Around Omaha
Icon Monument Loop
The area around Omaha, Nebraska and Council Bluffs, Iowa (ne Kanesville) offers a rich experience of historical sites, public art, the National Park Service headquarters of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, and a redeveloped riverfront that is a jewel. Visit the site of the “First Council” (spoiler alert – it is not Council Bluffs, IA), take a stroll over the Missouri River on “the Bob” pedestrian bridge, visit The Joslyn Museum, and drive our suggested route to see the Lewis and Clark Icon Sculpture Trail. So much to see and do. Enjoy your visit.
Read the original 2005 Guide to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Trail
You may also like our L&C Travel Magazine!
At the southern anchor of the Icon interpretive trail, the Children’s Lewis & Clark Artwall includes permanent artwork created by 700 grade school students living alng the Expedition route, illustrating children’s interpretation of the Expedition. The artwork was selected through a national competition, generating over 2,000 entries. The students artwork was recreated by artisans onto clay tile. The Artwall includes a three dimensional map of the route and interpretive tiles highlighting key Expedition events. The children’s tiles are arranged geographically by the events their illustrations interpret.
This sculpture was installed as part of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial and has weathered the time and floods of the Missouri River. Look for the chips in the concrete where flood damage has occured.
Haworth Park, Payne Drive, Bellevue, NE, USA
Cass County Historical Museum, Main Street, Plattsmouth, NE, USA
28210 W Park Hwy, Ashland, NE 68003, USA
Cass County Historical Museum, Main Street, Plattsmouth, NE, USA
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On July 22, 1804, the expedition made camp at a site approximately ten miles upstream of the Platte confluence, on the east side of the Missouri River. One of the men caught what was likely a channel catfish, which inspired the encampment’s name – White Catfish Camp.
The exact location of White Catfish Camp is unknown. Although Lewis and Clark camped on what is now the Iowa side of Missouri, the site is now most likely submerged by the river channel. The Iowa side of the river is privately owned but on the Nebraska side Fontenelle Forest (a National Natural Landmark) provides public access via an excellent system of hiking trails that include Lewis and Clark interpretive wayside exhibits. There is an entry fee charged to access Fontenelle Forest.
Fontenelle Forest, Bellevue Boulevard North, Bellevue, NE, USA
El Museo Latino, South 25th Street, Omaha, NE, USA
Lauritzen Gardens is Omaha’s Botanical Garden. Located in the parking garden, the Lewis and Clark icon is one of nine on the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Trail along the Missouri River.
The artistic piece on the icon was created by local artist, Kristin Pluhacek. The painting on metal was inspired by the Osage orange tree, collected and described by Lewis and Clark. Also known as bow wood, this tree was highly prized by Native American tribes for making hunting bows.
Lauritzen Gardens, Bancroft Street, Omaha, NE, USA
Kenefick Park - Union Pacific Locomotives, Bancroft Street, Omaha, NE, USA
Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, South 10th Street, Omaha, NE, USA
3202 Woolworth Ave, Omaha, NE 68105, USA
Kenefick Park - Union Pacific Locomotives, Bancroft Street, Omaha, NE, USA
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Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, South 10th Street, Omaha, NE, USA
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The Trails Center building is not currently open, but the Icon Sculpture is a short walk from the Council Bluffs Recreation Complex Parking lot. There are connecting trails along the river bank and levee to walk and bike. Additionally, there are 2 wayside Exhibit panels in the Baseball/Softball complex.
Western Historic Trails Center, Richard Downing Avenue, Council Bluffs, IA, USA
Lake Manawa State Park, South Shore Drive, Council Bluffs, IA, USA
Lake Manawa State Park, South Shore Drive, Council Bluffs, IA, USA
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The Icon Sculpture is in front of the Riverside Golf Course on the side of the restaurant facing the Missouri River. It describes the boats used by the Expedition.
Dodge Riverside Golf Club, Harrah's Boulevard, Council Bluffs, IA, USA
63VR+7Q Council Bluffs, IA, USA
Golden Spike - Eastern Terminus of the Transcontinental Railroad, 9th Avenue, Council Bluffs, IA, USA
Golden Spike - Eastern Terminus of the Transcontinental Railroad, 9th Avenue, Council Bluffs, IA, USA
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The Lewis and Clark Monument Scenic Overlook in Council Bluffs was dedicated in 1936 honoring the 1804 expedition of Lewis and Clark and their historic meeting with Otoe and Missouri Tribesmen. The monument depicts an image of the meeting and has text stating “Beneath the bluffs on the Missouri, Lewis and Clark held parley with the Otoe and Missouri Indians and named the locality Council Bluffs.”
Located in the Loess Hills of southwest Iowa, the site gives visitors the opportunity to take in stunning views of the Missouri River, Council Bluffs, and the Omaha skyline. The overlook is also home to a popular mountain bike trail which can also be used for hiking. Restrooms and a picnic area are open seasonally.
The park has a small observation deck and two large commemorative stone markers, quarried from the Folsom Quarry in Vermont and created by sculptor Harry E. Stinson and architect George L. Horner. The images and text on the markers explain Lewis and Clark’s meeting with local Oto and Missouri Indians. (The actual site of the meeting took place on the west side of the Missouri about 10 miles north of Omaha near today’s Fort Calhoun, Nebraska.)
Lewis and Clark Park & Monument, Monument Road, Council Bluffs, IA, USA
Union Pacific Railroad Museum, Pearl Street, Council Bluffs, IA, USA
Dodge House-Historic General, South 3rd Street, Council Bluffs, IA, USA
Union Pacific Railroad Museum, Pearl Street, Council Bluffs, IA, USA
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Dodge House-Historic General, South 3rd Street, Council Bluffs, IA, USA
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Along the Missouri River is one of Omaha’s newest parks – the RiverFront. Once an industrial concrete landscape, the RiverFront has undergone significant transformation and now contains extensive green spaces (including a prairie garden), a sandy urban beach, and a destination playground. Primarily focused on families, Lewis and Clark Landing has something for children of all ages. The adventure playground contains climbing structures, a zipline, log forest, swing canopy, and an interactive sand play area. Lewis and Clark Landing is just one of the parks located within the RiverFront’s revitalization, which provides visitors and residents with recreational activities and a sprawling view of the Missouri River.
Lewis & Clark Landing at The RiverFront, Riverfront Drive, Omaha, NE, USA
Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Headquarters and Visitor Center, Riverfront Drive, Omaha, NE, USA
Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge., Riverfront Drive, Omaha, NE, USA
The Durham Museum, South 10th Street, Omaha, NE, USA
Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Headquarters and Visitor Center, Riverfront Drive, Omaha, NE, USA
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Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge., Riverfront Drive, Omaha, NE, USA
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The shape of the sculpture, designed to represent a river eddy, also conveys a feeling of personal discovery as you walk into the sculpture. Its shape was used as a logo on the wayside and orientation exhibits and other materials. The artwork on this Icon “A Panoramic Rendering of the Journey of Discovery” provides an overview of the Expedition, from bison on the plains, meetings with the Indian tribes, to dragging the keelboat up the Missouri and Lewis describing events in his journal.
Miller's Landing, Freedom Park Road, Omaha, NE, USA
Kiewit Luminarium, Riverfront Drive, Omaha, NE, USA
Chief Big Elk Statue, Riverfront Drive, Omaha, NE, USA
Situated on an oxbow lake of the Missouri River, this site highlights the diverse contributions of the Lewis and Clark Expedition—particularly York, William Clark’s enslaved African American servant. Exhibits explore the challenges faced by the Expedition, from grueling conditions to the complex dynamics among its members. The ever-shifting course of the Missouri River has also sparked long-standing debate about whether this historic site lies in Iowa or Nebraska, adding a layer of intrigue to its story.
Levi Carter Park, Carter Lake Shore Drive, Omaha, NE, USA
825V+26 Omaha, Nebraska, USA
826Q+3R Omaha, Nebraska
3448 Evans St, Omaha, NE 68111, USA
Located on the Omaha Riverfront Trail, this artwork “The First Council” illustrates the first formal meeting between the Expedition and Indian tribes, the Otoe and the Missoura Indians.
N.P. Dodge Park, John J Pershing Drive, Omaha, NE, USA
Mormon Trail Center at Winter Quarters, State Street, Omaha, NE, USA
Mormon Trail Center at Winter Quarters, State Street, Omaha, NE, USA
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At the entrance to the Boyer Chute Wildlife Refuge the Missouri River habitat is interpreted through the artwork “The Natural Habitat”. The exhibits interpret the channelization of the river, its impact on animals, fish, and plants, and describes recent efforts to restore the river habitat.
Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge, Rivers Way, Fort Calhoun, NE, USA
GXCC+QC Missouri Valley, Iowa, USA
DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge, 316th Lane, Missouri Valley, IA, USA
DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge, 316th Lane, Missouri Valley, IA, USA
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On July 30, 1804, Lewis and Clark encamped at a site on the west side of the Missouri River they named Council Bluff, in order to meet with members of the Oto and Missouri tribes. Tribal representatives finally arrived on the evening of August 2, and council was held throughout the following day. Recognizing the strategic value of the location, Clark wrote, “The Situation of this place which we Call Council Bluff which is handsom ellevated a Spot well Calculated for a Tradeing establishment, the Bank high & leavel on top well Calculated for a fort to Command the Countrey and river the low bottom above high water & well Situated under the Command of the Hill for Houses to trade with the Natives a butifull Plain both abov and below at no other bend on either Side does the High land touch the river for Some distance up, as I am told.”
Fort Atkinson State Historical Park, South 7th Street, Fort Calhoun, NE, USA
Fort Atkinson State Historical Park, South 7th Street, Fort Calhoun, NE, USA
102 N 14th St, Fort Calhoun, NE 68023, USA
Fort Atkinson State Historical Park, South 7th Street, Fort Calhoun, NE, USA
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The Margre H. Durham Center for Western Studies was established in 1980 as a research institute at the Joslyn Art Museum to safeguard, interpret, and celebrate the Museum’s rich collections of Western and Native American Art. The foundation of the collection and programs of the Durham Center are the Maximilian-Bodmer and the Alfred J. Miller collections, two of the most valuable national resources for the study of the artistic and natural history of the nineteenth-century American West.
View the digital image collection The Natural Face of North America
Joslyn Art Museum, Dodge Street, Omaha, NE, USA
Orpheum Theater, 409 S 16th St, Omaha, NE 68102
The Old Market, Omaha, NE, USA
3902 Davenport St, Omaha, NE 68131, USA
Our bi-weekly newsletter provides news, history, and information for those interested in traveling along along the Lewis & Clark Trail.
