The Wilmette Community Recreation center houses 2 modern playgrounds, a preschool, tennis courts,…read morebaseball fields, state of the art gym facilities for adults and little ones, and a variety of indoor and outdoor extracurricular activities for all ages. The indoor facilities and the outdoor grounds are all very well maintained. The large playground was rebuilt last year and is one of the nicest ones in the North shore area. The small playground (which is part of the preschool) is fully fenced and has a splash pad that operates during the summer months. There is an outdoor walking path that loops around the entire Rec center and an indoor running path at the fitness center. There is also a state of the art gymnastics facility for toddlers to big kids. Overall, this is an excellent recreation center that is very well maintained and has just about everything. The only negative aspect of this center is that the playgrounds can get too crowded when all the kiddos from the preschool, summer camps, and enrichment programs all come out to play. Otherwise, very highly recommended.

One of the best parts about living in Wilmette is coming to this community recreation center run by…read morethe Wilmette Park District. Here they run a variety of activities for children as well as adults and seniors. Almost any activity you can think of including sports, fitness, dance, theater, gymnastic and art are offered here. They are always adding new things that are popular. My son just started a video game design class which is really up his alley. During holidays and throughout the year they put on special events for families to enjoy. They run a very good preschool which is one of the most affordable in the area, but make sure you book it early because it fills up fast. The quarterly book that they send to the residents is huge and nicely laid out with programs. You can register for classes with ease online or there. Not only that, but the staff are all very helpful. If there was ever a time when we were not completely satisfied or were suddenly unable to attend, we were refunded our money and never given a hard time. Anyone can sign up for the activities here, however it is just less expensive if you are a resident. What I love the most is the convenience of everything being in one location, so I'm not running all over the place. I also like how many options there are. We are always trying something new and fun. They put on the cutest theater productions and tickets are not expensive. The rec center has alot to offer so check it out for yourself!

Huge sports center run by the Northbrook Park District. This facility has 2 NHL sized ice rinks,a…read morepro shop,swimming pool,meeting rooms and a snack shop. We came on a Saturday afternoon to see our grandson play on the Glenbrook North hockey team. Plenty of parking is available.

This is a well kept facility even though it is older. We watched GBN vs GBS compete for JV Hockey…read more The JV games between GBS and GBN are considered major, high-stakes matchups, often viewed as second only to the state championship in importance for players.

We love coming to Mitchell pool in the summer! My toddler especially loves the wading pool/splash…read morepad. It's just the right size for a new-ish walker. We've taken swimming lessons here for the past 2 summers as well, and the lifeguards/instructors are very friendly. I wish they had concessions, though. I appreciate that they have a list of delivery places, but it's not the same. The hours are a little light (the main pool opens pretty late in the morning on weekends for non-adult/lap swimming) and I do wish that the season lasted a little longer, but that's Chicago...

I enjoy swimming here during the adult swim times. It's a nice pool although the sister pool at…read moredeerspring is nicer. My only complaint is the bathroom/locker room cleanliness is subpar. They need to do a better job cleaning.

5/5 -- Big Blue Swim School Has Been Incredible for Our Family…read more We've had an absolutely outstanding experience at Big Blue Swim School, and we want to give a huge shoutout to the amazing team that made all the difference for our children. Our 2-year-old can sometimes struggle with new instructors, and there was a moment where he didn't want to get in the water at all. Brex, Josh, and Xzenia went above and beyond to turn the entire situation around. Their patience, energy, and compassion completely changed the day -- within minutes, he was not only comfortable but laughing, splashing, and having fun. It was such a heartwarming transformation to watch. We also want to give a special side shoutout to Ross, who consistently goes out of his way to accommodate our scheduling needs. He always helps us find class times and instructors that work best for our family, and that level of thoughtfulness truly means a lot. Big Blue has become such a positive part of our weekly routine thanks to the incredible staff. We're so grateful for everything they do and highly recommend them to any family looking for a caring, encouraging, and professional swim school.

My 5 year old has been taking lessons here for almost 3 years (on and off) and my 2 year old for…read moreabout a year and Big Blue has become a consistent part of our lives! The kids love the lessons (or we would have quit long ago), and I love how easily you can start/stop weekly lessons and pick right up where you left off. I also love that the app shows you exactly what skills they're working on and when they've mastered something. My only complaint is that I wish they made it clearer what age/height requirements there are to move to the next level. Sometimes it can feel like your kid is stagnating, but really they just have to age into the next level. Highly recommend trying it out!

I'm in a few park and playground social media groups, and the park at the Des Plaines Park District…read moreAdministrative Center has come up a time or two as being particularly good. I decided we should finally go check it out. If you're coming here for the playground, don't make the boneheaded mistake I did: Stopping at the Iroquois Community School, which is right off Touhy and when I saw the school's playground I thought we were at our destination. You will be sorely disappointed if you stop at the wrong one. If you make your way here via Birch Street, you'll go all the way to the end of the street, turn left, and find the park on the other side of the building; if you take Maple Street to get here, drive down toward the barricade dividing the street and you won't be able to miss it on your right. With all that out of the way, this is a fantastic park. When we left the school playyard, something just seemed off and I am so glad that I went around the block to find the actual playground we'd intended to visit, at the DPPD. It's all the way back at the end of the road; you'll essentially dead-end into when you head down Birch. This is my current favorite playground. The equipment is fantastic and so much of it is geared toward the littlest kiddos, which is not always the case. Here there are small things for them to climb on and under, there's a little "farmers market" booth with different play elements, crawl spaces, slides, and so on. My little girl had fun just running around the place, and she also did some crawling and climbing and sliding and enjoyed trying to feed the big turtle sculpture, as well as naming the turtle's body parts that she recognized. Toward the tail end of our visit, she spotted the swings, which is her favorite so we spent a while there before heading out. All told, we spent about 45 minutes here. The first time, that is--we've since been back again in the last week or so since our first visit and were there for an hour or more. There are several picnic tables in this playground area as well, so many of the parents were hanging out there whilst the kids ran around. This playground is geared toward younger kids (10 and below). The terrain is turf, grass, and paved walkways throughout, and it's fully fenced which is one of my favorite features of a park right now (though some parents are better than others about making sure the gates are actually closed). There's a private parking lot, very convenient. I hope we see you there!

On Sept 15, we went to the Fall Festival to see Live bands play on stage but what we saw was…read moredrunken brawls break out during the concert. Prior to the bands playing and during the breaks, announcements were constantly made for Alcohol Sales. Alcohol impairs judgement and I highly suggest that at future park district events that No Alcohol Sales occur, especially events that are promoted as "family friendly".

My husband and I just joined the Center in order to brush up on stale bridge skills and the class…read morehas been fantastic. Now I want to sign up for a bunch of other things, I had no idea how much is offered. A big plus: everyone I've dealt with in person or by phone has been so helpful and supportive. Five stars.

A real community asset, with good programs and classes. The meals program and resale shop support…read morethe senior citizens/members.

I tried this company with two different park districts and each time it was unprofessional…read moreinstruction and disorganized classes.

I've taken indoor/outdoor adult classes in Gurnee and Mundelein for multiple sessions. I've played…read moreat a pretty stagnant level since high school (over 15 years ago) until taking lessons with Frank. While I've had some great instructors, Frank has been the only one to help me make consistent improvements in my serves and backhands. He explains things in a way that really gets you to understand cause/effect of technique and offers very honest but encouraging feedback. Even while building foundations for good techniques, he also focuses on strategy. His other instructors, particularly during the summer, are also great. Definitely will continue with lessons!

9.6/10 One of the…read morebetter courses for walking on a nice day. Narrower than Indian Boundary, but not as challenging as George Dunne. They have motorbike carts which is fun.

Pretty good layout for a municipal course...I have enjoyed playing it during the week when it's not…read moresuper crowded...but if you value your time and the quality of your golf experience, DO NOT PLAY THIS COURSE ON THE WEEKEND. At least when I played there was nobody enforcing pace of play, so we were well on track for a five + hour round of golf while the group in front of us was busy plumb bobbing its putts for quadruple bogey ... with an entire hole open in front of them. Could be a lovely round with a little bit of gentle guidance from rangers to keep pace, and some regular reminders to adhere to some of the basic courtesies like raking bunkers, replacing divots, and repairing ball marks (none of which seemed to be being done on a particularly regular basis...).