Attended a 2 year old birthday party this weekend at Lil' Kickers and it was adorable!…read more We were greeted by the very sweet staff who pointed us to the direction of the birthday party. They set up a huge bouncy house for that was really the star of the show. The kiddos had some much fun climbing and jumping around on there. The indoor fields were also open for us to run around on. Most of the kids were still pretty little, but they really enjoyed running around and kicking the balls. We would love to bring our son back here for lessons once he's a little bit older, but for now it's an A+ birthday party destination!

My son loves the classes and instructors there. We continue to take the next level of classes thereread more

Very good place to play soccer, nice stadium with different field. Love to go there with my friends…read moreall the time

I have been going to the Quad (now Toca) for a few years. My two sons (under 10) have done their…read moresummer camps. Also, our travel soccer teams have participated in the winter indoor soccer league there. I can't say enough great things about Tony (the general manager) and his staff. Every experience I have had over the last few years has been absolutely first class. Tony understands how to lead and manage. He also has an excellent sense for providing great customer service. Our travel soccer teams are from Glenview, and we come down to the Quad league due to the excellent customer service and quality that we get. Great job Tony!

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!

The grand-darlings have attended gymnastics classes here for years and have always thoroughly…read moreenjoyed them. About 4 years ago, they also attended a dance class, but I noticed on my recent last visit to watch them, that the dance studios have all been removed, some remodeling done, and the whole facility is now oriented to gymnastics only. Attached are some recent photos of the remodeled sections. I don't really know anything about the administration of their programs, but the daughter is pretty happy about their program, the cost, and the girls' progress and enjoyment. Most sessions are filled months in advance, and there are waitlists for every level as their whole program is very popular. One complaint I have heard though is that when a kiddo gets promoted to the next level, they may still have to wait a few weeks or months to move up as there are no openings at the next level. They have a ton of staffers and if you want to be a junior gymnastics instructor, this place sure seems to draw a lot of them for what that's worth.

We love Viking! Such a great gymnastics school. My daughter has grown and gained confidence.read more

GYMNASTICS BIRTHDAY PARTY My daughter had her 6th birthday…read moreparty here in 2007. It was great! Easy registration. Affordable. Received a phone call from the organizer the week before. They were very helpful and pleasant. They provide you with a big room to store coats, etc. and have food and cake. We had about 20 kids - almost an even number of boys and girls - and they split them up into two groups. The instructors were fun, organized, and somehow kept the kids in two lines doing all the gymnastics the whole time. The gymnastics equipment is clean. The huge gym is safe and cool - padded floors, lots of equipment, and a big foam-filled pit for the kids to jump into! All the kids had a lot of fun and my daughter loved it!

Fun place with accommodating staff. Great place for a kids party. Rooms are large enough for a…read moreparty of sixty or more.

The club does a tremendous job with player development. We have had three kids play for West Loop…read moreincluding pre-travel and travel teams. The West Loop coaches are simply terrific. The coaches are professional, knowledgeable about coaching and teaching soccer and welcoming. The coaches are great with kids, striking a perfect balance between teaching, motivating and making soccer fun. Their years of experience working with kids shines through as does their passion for teaching soccer.

My son joined the club for the past 1.5 years off and on. Although the coaching was decent the…read morecustomer service is terrible. 3 wks ago I got an email stating there was a full season for $140 with minimal spots left, so I quickly signed my son up. What we didn't realize is the first practice had already occurred in 2020. And unfortunately my car was snowed in for the second practice. So we decided to go to the third practice on Feb 7. When my soon to be 14 year old son and I showed up, my son refused to join the group because there were only young children ages 8 or 9. I emailed Milo that we were disappointed due to the expense, the low quantity of practices and more importantly the young ages present. I requested a refund but Milo got rude over several emails taking no responsibility and repeatedly said "no refunds!" Several times. I expressed my disappointment on how he handled the situation and told him I would write a review. He said "give us 5 stars." I normally would let $140 go and have my son train elsewhere but that annoyed me hence this review. I can provide copies of emails if needed. If you children are older, ask how many are practicing in their age range before joining or paying anything!!!

Oakton Sports Complex is a virtually brand new facility after a 17 month $33 million rebuild…read moreproject was recently completed in Aug 2025. Yippee for Park Ridge residents! The wife and I dropped in for the first time to check the place out and to get in our fitness steps. It was very nice to use the free, uncrowded, and comfortable walking track in the Athletic Field space. The weekday walking hours are 6am-4pm, except Wednesday when it is 8am-4pm. The walking track encircles an indoor soccer field. There are also free lockers for the storage of your personal items. At the risk of ruining things with this review lol, this place is a hidden gem for us! As I was looking around at the historical info ads about this long standing facility, I took a photo of the past Olympians from this ice center. A voice out of nowhere said "make sure to get a photo of the guy in red". The guy in red in the ad photo was David Santee, a two time (1976 and 1980) USA Olympian and sure enough the voice out of nowhere belonged to none other than David Santee himself lol! You can check the photo - he's not a fake and he is a retired director of this facility and also currently a skating coach here. Pretty cool coincidental run-in and David is a very loyal Park Ridge native, hooray! Besides the Athletic Field, there is the Ice Arena which houses a brand new studio rink for their figure skating and hockey programs. Big thumbs up for this new community asset and congratulations to the Park Ridge Park District on the completion of their very successful rebuild project.

Wow, I see that the most recent review is almost three years old now--definitely time for a new…read moreone! As I write this review for what's currently listed on Yelp as Oakton Ice Arena (until the updates I submitted are approved, anyway), it's actually a completely new facility. That's not hyperbole--the place was rebuilt from the ground up. I never visited the old arena, but have been to the new one several times since I live nearby and we also attended the grand opening of the new facility (which opened in August 2025). In addition to the main ice rink, they have a studio rink which is a fraction of the size, as well as an indoor athletic field. There's an indoor walking track that forms the perimeter of the athletic field, and though they open at 9 a.m., the walking track opens at 6 and is free of charge to use. They have a nice concessions area, which includes an outdoor patio in the warm weather months. As a park district facility, they have a variety of events and classes and you can also rent space in the building for your own events. There's classes for all ages; I signed my daughter up for baseball (the only girl!) and we'll try soccer in a few weeks. I'm also curious about the adult ice skating classes, and I'll definitely be looking into the children's ice skating when she's old enough to enroll. They have adult leagues for broom ball, volleyball, ice bocce, basketball.... The instructors are top-notch as well. I believe the facility has a golf range that will be opening in spring or summer 2026. There's a lot of parking here. I haven't ever seen it near full. They have quite a few electronic vehicle spots with chargers; possibly too many tbh but I'm probably misremembering how many there are. It's also just a couple blocks from the Dee Road Metra station, so it's easily accessible by public transportation as well. 2026 - Review #1

This is my first experience looking for a summer camp for my son. I toured the facility and…read moreinstantly fell in love. I was skeptical about the staffing, but I knew my son would have a blast. Fast forward to his first day, and I was impressed by the organization and details. The check-in process was smooth. We pulled up by the gym, walked him inside, and they scanned the QR code to see what meal I ordered for him. Then he was off to have fun. It's always fun to see what he did throughout the day from baking,sewing,water play,playing soccer and the list goes on. This is truly the best summer camp experience in town. I hope they continue every year because I would always send him. The price was worth it, and it was the longest summer program in town. We had peace of mind sending him every day, thanks to Nick, the director, and his team, who did an amazing job at keeping the kids safe and busy. The staff selection was amazing. You can tell they're passionate about what they're doing. My son and family have nothing but great things to say about Steve and Kate's. I know my son will tell all his classmates about how much fun he had over the summer and show off his AMAZING Mooseband collection.

I would have to agree with the first reviewer that it seems there is not enough staff, or the staff…read moreare not always able to rein in the kids. While our kids had a great time, they were frequently "written up" for misbehaving, which led them to make us sit home from camp on multiple occasions. While our kids aren't perfect, they have no history of ongoing behavioral issues, so I wonder what is happening behind the scenes. Unfortunately, our kids also loved the punshment "days off" camp because that meant they play on the iPad all day while mom and dad worked (finding out at 6pm the day before not enough time to come up with alternate child care plans). So the punishment was not effective despite us giving them the talk multiple times. There were many moments of frustration and dysfunction during the summer, despite the kids saying they had a blast. The best days included water play and other pre-arranged activities. The kids love the director, Nick. I would maybe try it again, but also open to other options next year.