Council Bluffs, IA

Council Bluffs occupies the Iowa bank of the Missouri River directly across from Omaha and serves as Pottawattamie County's seat. Before taking its present name in 1853, the settlement was Kanesville, a major stopping and supply point on westward routes. More than 30,000 Mormon refugees passed through in the mid-1800s, followed by California-bound travelers during the Gold Rush. Railroads then reshaped the river crossing: Abraham Lincoln designated Council Bluffs as the eastern terminus of the transcontinental railroad, and Grenville Dodge helped survey and build western lines. That history remains accessible at the Union Pacific Railroad Museum in the former Carnegie library, RailsWest in a restored 1899 Rock Island depot, and Dodge's 1869 house. community activity now extends through riverfront, neighborhood, and lake settings. The city manages 30 parks and roughly 755 acres.

ATTRJared Winkler / CC BY-SA 4.0

Tom Hanafan River's Edge Park sits by the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge, where its pavilion, green space, plaza, and water-play area face the Missouri River and Omaha skyline. The 2.5-mile FIRST AVE trail reuses a former rail corridor as a lit route with plazas, bicycle parking, and 15 murals by local artists; it also links toward River's Edge. At Lake Manawa State Park, more than 1,500 acres surround an oxbow lake formed by an 1881 flood, with boating, fishing, a swimming beach, paved paths, and unpaved mountain-bike trails. Metro Transit's Blue and Yellow routes connect Council Bluffs with the Omaha bus network. The public library adds recurring makerspace classes, language exchange, genealogy programs, and storytimes, including sessions held at Bayliss Park in 2026.