Welcome to Gretna

Gretna got its start in 1886 when the Burlington Northern Railroad handed over $560 to the Lincoln Land Co. for 80 acres located 10 miles southwest of Omaha and 40 miles northeast of Lincoln. Lincoln Land Co. surveyed and platted the town site in 1887, and the village was incorporated by 1889. The trains no longer travel through the community, which features a population of just more than 5,000 today.

The origin of the town’s name is not certain, but it has been suggested that the earliest settlers’ ancestral home—Scotland’s Gretna Green County—is the inspiration.

Well Known For:

Gretna, just 13 miles north of Interstate-80’s Exit 432 and also reachable by U.S. Highway 6 and Nebraska Highway 370, claims a strong business community that offers such daily necessities and niceties as a grocery, a pharmacy, day cares, florists, medical providers, a few eateries, etc. Shopping and dining options are expanded by the shops at Nebraska Crossing Outlets, sitting at Exit 432, and in Omaha.

The city is further enhanced by a top-notch school system that includes eight elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school. A number of city parks and recreational fields host youth sports leagues for softball and baseball, basketball, soccer, and flag and tackle football. The popular Tiburon Golf Course, sporting 27 holes of championship golf, features 12 acres of lakes and wooded areas. And everyone attends the annual summertime Gretna Days Festival to celebrate the good small-town life.

Area Highlights:

What Gretna lacks in larger city amenities, it more than makes up for with some of the most serene, picturesque landscape and access to stellar outdoor attractions. Just a quick jaunt east off Highway 370 is Vala’s Pumpkin Patch, a wholesome family destination whose Fall Festival—complete with pumpkin picking, train and pony rides, Storybook Barn, Spook Shed and more—grows more popular every year.

A short six miles farther southwest and just across the Platte River sits Exit 426, where you’ll find Eugene T. Mahoney State Park, home to myriad family-friendly recreational activities such as a waterpark, horseback rides, fishing, hiking, tennis and basketball courts, golf, a 70-foot observation tower, and the Peter Kiewit Lodge rooms and cabin rentals for overnights. The Denman and Mary Mallory Kountze Theater includes old-fashioned summertime melodramas where everyone can throw popcorn at the villain.

Next door is the popular Strategic Air & Space Museum, a $29.5 million, 300,000-square-foot tribute to stunning, history-making aircraft. The campus includes a glass atrium made with 525 glass panels that showcases a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird.

Just south at that same exit is the Lee G. Simmons Conservation Park & Wildlife Safari, where animals such as elk, bison and pronghorn get to gawk at visitors as they traverse a four-mile drive-through. At Wolf Canyon Overlook, the tables are turned, and visitors can walk a 30-foot boarded walkway to peek in at the pack.

When you need time to savor a little peace and quiet, trek back to Exit 432 and head south and west to the Holy Family Shrine, which you’ll spy traveling along Interstate 80. This small but spectacular glass, Catholic chapel, with a façade up to 49 feet high, showcases expansive views of the prairie and the Platte Valley. Sit a spell and enjoy the sights and serenity of waving grain all around you.

Options for Gretna housing include apartment and townhome communities, assisted living and senior living centers, and single-family villas and homes. Find your new home among well-loved houses or new builds at developments such as Aspen Creek North, Bridgeport, Harrison 210, Lakeview, Pebblebrooke, The Hamptons, and Tiburon View. Your piece of the prairie is waiting for you.