"Since this has been built, the animals are starting to come back in," said Doug Cox, a longtime Gretna resident, standing near a 15-acre lake that didn't exist two years ago. He wasn't talking about a nature preserve someone lobbied for. He was talking about a flood control reservoir.
That's the part most people miss about the two new lakes that have opened in Gretna over the past year. They weren't built because the city wanted more parks. They were built because Sarpy County is growing faster than almost anywhere else in the state, and fast growth means more pavement, more roofs, and more water that has to go somewhere during a storm. The lakes are what happens when a flood control requirement gets designed well enough that people actually want to spend a Saturday there.
Two Lakes, Five Months Apart
Forest City Recreation Area opened on November 6, 2025, near 204th and Schram Road. The $12 million project, funded federally and built by the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District in partnership with the City of Gretna, turned an old flood problem into an 81-acre park wrapped around a 15-acre no-wake lake. It has a 1.7-mile loop trail, two kayak and canoe launches, an ADA accessible fishing pier, and a reservable picnic shelter. Largemouth bass and bluegill were stocked before the ribbon was even cut, with black crappie and channel catfish still to come.
Five months later, on April 23, 2026, the Papio NRD opened a second one: Sergeant Mad Bear Recreation Area, known formally as Kuruks Tîčaris, near 168th and Giles Road. This one cost closer to $14 million. At the dedication, the reservoir itself was still empty, waiting on rain to fill it. Papio NRD water resources engineer Ian Ghanavati pointed out where the shoreline would eventually sit once the water came up. That didn't stop anyone from using it. Jen Boswell, who lives nearby, told a local news crew, "I try to come down and walk at least three times around," referring to the trail that connects straight from her street.
Two flood control reservoirs, five months apart, both immediately adopted as neighborhood infrastructure before either one had fully filled with water. That's the pattern worth understanding if you live here, because it isn't finished.
What's Actually at Each Lake
| Forest City Recreation Area | Sergeant Mad Bear (Kuruks Tîčaris) Recreation Area | |
|---|---|---|
| Opened | November 6, 2025 | April 23, 2026 |
| Location | 204th and Schram Road | 168th and Giles Road |
| Project cost | About $12 million, federally funded | About $14 million |
| Reservoir | 15-acre no-wake lake | Filling with rainwater as of opening day |
| Trail | 1.7-mile loop | Connector trail already open and in use |
| Launches | Two kayak and canoe launches, one ADA accessible | Not yet detailed publicly |
| Fish | Largemouth bass and bluegill stocked, crappie and catfish planned | Added to the state's 21-inch bass length list ahead of stocking |
| Name origin | Gretna's original 1870s townsite name, before the railroad shifted development to present-day Gretna | Pawnee Sergeant Mad Bear, the first Native American to receive the Medal of Honor |
The naming isn't decoration either. Forest City was the actual name of the settlement here before the Midland Pacific Railway pulled development a few miles over to what became present-day Gretna. Mad Bear's site was dedicated with the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma present, including Head Chief Pat Leading Fox, who called it a "revered soldier" being honored on ground where he once served. Both names were chosen through public input to the Papio NRD board, not assigned by a committee working from a list.
A Fishing Rule Nobody Announced
Here's the detail that tells you these lakes are being taken seriously as fisheries, not just scenery. Effective January 1, 2026, Nebraska Game and Parks added both Forest City and Mad Bear to the statewide list of waters with a 21-inch minimum length limit on black bass. That's the same protective threshold used at established, well-managed lakes around the state. It means most bass caught at either lake this year are going back in the water, and it means the state is already managing these reservoirs for the long game rather than treating them as an afterthought to the flood control mission.
If you fish, that's worth knowing before you show up expecting to keep your first largemouth. If you don't fish, it's still a useful signal. A state agency doesn't add regulation to a lake it doesn't expect people to use for years.
The Third Lake Already Has a Name
The Papio NRD isn't done in Gretna. A third recreation area, Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte Recreation Area, is already named for a planned site near 192nd and Giles Road. It's the next reservoir in the same flood reduction initiative that produced Forest City and Mad Bear, and the board has said it will include the same mix of a no-wake lake, trails, kayak and canoe launches, fishing access, and picnic areas. There isn't a firm construction start date yet, but the naming alone tells you the pattern that produced two lakes in five months is going to produce a third.
For anyone who's watched Gretna's growth mostly through the lens of Nebraska Crossing or the new restaurants filling in around downtown, this is the other half of the story. The city isn't just adding retail and rooftops. It's adding water, on purpose, as a byproduct of managing the runoff those rooftops create.
Where the Fall Calendar Still Runs Separately
If you're looking for Gretna's traditional fall trail event, it isn't at either new lake. Trick or Treat on the Trail returns Saturday, October 24, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Lincoln Place Park, with local businesses handing out candy and running games along the path. That's a different park with its own history, and it's a good reminder that Gretna now runs two separate trail traditions at once: the decades-old neighborhood events at parks like Lincoln Place, and the brand new lake-and-trail routine that Forest City and Mad Bear are still building.
A few ways residents are already using the new lakes this season:
- Early morning laps on the Forest City loop trail before the heat sets in, since the 1.7-mile path stays mostly shaded along the water
- Evening kayak launches at Forest City, where the no-wake rule keeps the water calm enough for beginners
- Short walks on the Mad Bear connector trail for anyone who lives close enough to reach it directly from their street, the way Jen Boswell does
- Catch and release bass fishing at either lake, now that both carry the 21-inch minimum length rule
- Picnic shelter reservations at Forest City for smaller gatherings, since it comes with a grill and six tables but no power hookup
None of this shows up on a portal listing or a market report. It shows up if you live here and pay attention to what the Papio NRD and the city have been quietly building behind the subdivisions on either side of town.
I write about Gretna because I work here, and because the stuff that actually changes daily life rarely gets covered the way it deserves. Two lakes in five months, with a third already named, is the kind of infrastructure story that tells you more about where this town is headed than any single housing statistic could. If you've got questions about a specific pocket of Gretna, whether it's near Forest City, closer to Mad Bear, or somewhere else in town entirely, I'm happy to talk through what I know. You can find more from me at Skyler Bauer.
