Eugene T. Mahoney State Park

Eugene T. Mahoney State Park is a state park of Nebraska, USA, on the Platte River. The park is located just off Interstate 80 near Ashland, Nebraska, approximately 20 miles (32 km) from Omaha. It is known as "A Park for All Seasons" because of its wide range of activities available year round.

History

Mahoney State Park, as it is typically referred to, was named after Eugene T. Mahoney, a former policeman, state senator, and director of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Mahoney was seen as a very powerful man in politics, state government, and throughout the business community. When he took over the Game and Parks Commission, the Nebraska state parks began to grow and greatly improve. He was able to gather contributions to improve facilities statewide, particularly for the park that was to be later named after him. The park was dedicated May 19, 1991. As of 2010, it had become the state of Nebraska's second most visited tourist attraction just behind Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo. Mahoney was very proud of his Irish heritage. The Mahoney family crest is the symbol of the park and a loop of cabins have been named after County Cork, Munster Province in the Republic of Ireland, the Mahoney family's ancestral home. In 2014 the public access TV show Noteworthy Omaha did an episode about Mahoney State Park.

State park

State parks or provincial parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" or "province" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational potential. There are state parks under the administration of the government of each U.S. state, and of some states of Mexico. The term is also used in Australia, though the distinction between state and national parks there is different. The Canadian equivalent term is provincial park. Similar systems of local government maintained parks exist in other countries, but the terminology varies.

State parks are thus similar to national parks, but under state rather than federal administration. Similarly, local government entities below state level may maintain parks, e.g., regional parks or county parks. In general, state parks are smaller than national parks, with a few exceptions such as the Adirondack Park in New York and Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in California.