Located in Louisville, Nebraska, along the Platte River, the Platte River State Park offers over 30 miles of trails that vary in difficulty and terrain. The park is situated about 26 miles southeast of Omaha, making it an accessible getaway from the city. The trails within the park showcase the unique characteristics of the Missouri River Valley ecosystem and offer stunning views of the Platte River.

The park's terrain is comprised of five distinct landform regions: the loess-covered bluffs, ravines, and gullies that border the Platte River; the river's islands and sandbars; the limestone and sandstone outcroppings along the bluffs; the river's oxbow wetlands; and the surrounding forest. Each of these regions offers its own unique ecosystem, with diverse plants and animals native to the area. The trails weave through these distinct regions, giving visitors a multifaceted experience of the park.

For those seeking more leisurely walking or jogging experience, the park offers several paved and stabilized trails suitable for strollers and mobility devices. The Mallet Loop Trail is an excellent example, spanning 1.7 miles and offering excellent views of the Platte River valley and surrounding woodlands. This trail benefits from wide hard-surfaced pathways suitable for all seasons and a broad accessibility range, providing access to picturesque scenery for people with different abilities.

Serious hikers, however, may want to challenge themselves on the section of the Platte River State Park trails that connects to the MoPac East and the nearby Schramm Park State Recreation Area trails via a system of connections that together total about 25 miles of trails. Including connections to as far as the trails of Standing Bear Lake in north western Omaha and the trails of Chalco Hills Recreation Area system of trails in that vicinity, and then the Fort Atkinson State Historical Park near Fort Calhoun all form the MoPac Trail from east to west across the eastern portion of the state. Serious hikers can choose between many itineraries suited to all levels of fitness.

Wildlife enthusiasts will also find the Platte River State Park trails endlessly fascinating, given the location along the historic river's flyway. During March the Park is on the Central Flyway for Sandhill Crane in spring for example, travelers who visit at dusk or dawn in the springtime months can catch sightings of birds, though the location is best taken for crane spotting one county to the South.

Birdwatchers can take advantage of the state park's location directly along the Platte River, for an estimated 600,000 migrating sandhill cranes rest in and around the Platte's 80-mile wetland stretch, offering a temporary craneduring period but one that endures annually called the sandhill crane migration these typically appear in this part of the river in the periods between late February and April and often the most favorable viewing of the spectacle and associated bird species may be on windy days as such conditions are commonly cited as challenging but also causing best opportunities for in-person views from given location.

With a diverse selection of ecosystem terrains, and diverse wildlife sightings along this prime flyway on Platte River, there are ample opportunities to capture both distinctive landscape and wildlife photography of waterfowl and crane at times there will even often be migrational water flights available.

Platte State River Park's various locations have at least nine accessible entrances that have all been optimized to provide individuals with accessible parking and with an offer of convenient trail connections making one adventure filled day trip along one another stunning US location unique to Nebraska within America's Great Plains
The various sites among all along, located across the river spanning also the largest river to cross state and a large portion of that.