UPDATE: The Urban Walking Labyrinth has been discontinued.
My family stumbled upon a map for the Urban Walking Labyrinth at Urban Abbey. This self-guided walking tour is one of the many free things you can do in the Old Market of Omaha. Curious thing to find, right? Sounded like an adventure.
On a whim, we decided to try it out. Was it a walk full of adventure? Not so much. Did we see things in our own city that we hadn’t noticed before? Definitely.
Side note: If you haven’t been to Urban Abbey, go check them out! It’s a bookstore/cafe/gathering place in the Old Market, and I love it.
About the Urban Walking Labyrinth in Omaha
The map for the labyrinth in Omaha guides you on a simple walk around the Old Market. There’s no actual labyrinth hidden in Omaha. At each stop, the map has a quote for you to read and ponder. Like a labyrinth, though, you don’t walk a direct route from start to finish.
“Walk slowly. Don’t rush. Each step brings you to the best moment of your life, the present moment.” -a quote by thich nhat nanh to be read at the J’s on Jackson stop of the walk
The quotes you read along the route were about love, peace and kindness, with a nondenominational religious slant. Our kids are a bit young to get all philosophical with us, so we didn’t dwell much at each stop.
If you haven’t been to the Old Market in a while, this is a good way to discover or rediscover some places. We found a wall of records that my kids had never noticed, and I’ve honestly, just overlooked all these years.
This is a walk best done on your own, if you ask me, or at least, with other contemplative adults. Maybe your kids like maps, maybe they’re little philosophers… go ahead and bring them! This walk is more of an excuse just to explore the city in a different way.
Want another downtown walk idea? Check out my post on the Omaha Art Walk!
Urban Abbey
Monday 10th of July 2023
Hi, there!
This is the manager at Urban Abbey - just wanted to update that we discontinued these maps a while back and no longer offer this walking labyrinth. We've been getting questions about this from this blog post, but it is no longer something we do! If you wouldn't mind making an update that this is no longer available, that would be very helpful. Thanks!