Neale Woods

Neale Woods
Type	Nature center
Location	North of Omaha, Nebraska, United States
Area	600 acres (240 ha) (2.42 km²)
Created	1971
Operated by	Fontenelle Forest
Status	Open year round

Neale Woods is a nature preserve nearly 600 acres in size in North Omaha, Nebraska. Located about 10 miles north of Downtown, Neale Woods is located in the Ponca Hills on top of the Missouri River Valley. It is operated by Fontenelle Forest.

History

Neale Woods was begun with a donation of 120 acres of land by Edith Neale in 1971. Neale's father had homesteaded the land in the mid-1800s. An additional 60 acres of contiguous land was given by Carl Jonas, whose father had been one of the founding members of Fontenelle Forest. After his death, a bequest from Jonas' estate made possible the purchase of 112 acres of additional land. Of that amount, 25 acres were cleared and designated as prairies, planted in a way thought to be representative of the land in the mid-1800s. Jonas' former home now serves as the Neale Woods Nature Center.

Facilities

Gifford Trail, on the eastern edge of Jonas Prairie. Downtown Omaha skyline is visible to the south in the distance

The Neale Woods Nature Center provides trail maps for visitors. A printable trail map is also available online in digital PDF format. Trails are open every day from dawn until dusk. The nature center building is open to visitors seasonally during the spring/summer/fall.

Astronomy

Neale Woods is home of the Millard Observatory, which is the largest public observatory in the Omaha metropolitan area. Astronomy nights are generally held two times per month, between the months of August and May.

Featured telescopes include:

• 10” Schmidt-Cassegrain
• 2 - 12” Meade LX 200 GPS
• 14” Celestron
• 13” Coulter
• 8” Meade
• 3 - 6” telescopes

See also

• Fontenelle Forest
• Trails in Omaha
• Tourism in Omaha, Nebraska

External links

• Fontenelle Forest Visitor Information
• Neale Woods - reviewed by Omaha.net
• Audubon Nebraska - Audubon Nebraska