Miller Park

4.1 mi

Review Visit: October 22nd, 2014…read more Clearwater Park should also be called Spacious Park. Clearwater Park is one of many city parks in Bloomington-Normal. The city has literally 7+ parks, if I am seeing this map right. But what sets this one apart from the others? Space. This park is relatively bigger than a standard park. It has basketball courts, a volleyball sand pit area, a playground, a gazebo for parties and openness. I didn't spend a whole lot of time here, but I enjoyed every second of it. The leaves were changing colors, the weather was just right. It was a nice visit. I just enjoy the openness of this park. If you find yourself in Bloomington, there are quiet a few nice parks to visit. McGraw Park and Holiday Park are two you should definitely check out, if you have kids and they love parks... or if you are a kid at heart like myself.

This park is awesome…read more The park has a paved walking trail that goes around the outside of the park. It is half a mile in distance. Perfect for walking or running exercise. The park has basketball hoops, volleyball court, and a wonderful playground. My kids love this park. There is also a covered area next to the playground with picnic tables, which is a great place to enjoy a group meal.

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Rollingbrook Park

4.5

3.2 mi

Review Visit: October 11th, 2014…read more Rollingbrook Park is just many one of many parks in the Bloomington-Normal area. My dad and I came here during a day of exploring and was greeted with a nice park. It has your typical playground and spacious grounds. But this one has a pretty nice tennis court. So if you get the urge to play, there is a place to play in Blo-No area. I really don't remember much about this park aside from the cool tennis courts. Definitely one to check out if you are park exploring!

Large playground with many disabled friendly pieces of equipment. There are trees very close so…read morethere's shade over some part all the time. There are also nine pickleball courts and three tennis courts

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Walt Bittner Park

5.0

6.0 mi

Review Visit: June 10th, 2015…read more It's not Walt Disney World but it's a fine park for Central Illinois! Walt Bittner Park is named after a former Mayor of Bloomington who was an advocate for parks, recreations and zoos. It is fitting that a park dedicated to one who was himself dedicated to parks be one of the nicer parks out there. This park is situated in a subdivision. It has plenty of open spaces in which you can walk and enjoy the scenery. There is a smaller jungle gym playground area which kids can play. Next to that is a basketball court that is in the shape of a triangle. Not sure what to call that but it's a unique layout. Off to the side, there is a gazebo in which you can use to host events. All in all, it was a nice park to visit and the kids that live in the area are lucky to have such a nice park within walking distance.

Awesome park for the family! It has a running/walking trail surrounding the park that is a quarter…read moreof a mile. Large open grass area that can be used for multiple sports. Nice playground with big slide! Also has basketball hoops!

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Anderson Aquatic Center

3.1 mi

Best poll in town! Hands down!!! Not as busy as Fairview. Smaller so that you can have room to…read moremove. Trust me, its just better.

It's a super fun pool but it isn't perfectly cleaned. Leaves in water, hair at the bottom of the…read morepool, sticks, twigs. It's super fun to go down slides and swim but it isn't super clean. Fairview is definitely cleaner, but also overcrowded. It depends on what you care more about.

Opposite the storefront from http://www.normal.org/ImageRepository/Path?filePath=%2Fdocument

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Fairview Park

4.5

3.7 mi

This was a cute little stop with my puppy on a road trip and we loved the views and natural spaces…read morein the fall. There were excellent marked paths, lots to view and it was nice to stretch our legs and walk for a bit. My dog and I will be back again!

We stopped by the park for a quick picnic lunch on our road trip. It was very quiet considering it…read morewas a Saturday and we found a nice picnic table in the shade. The facilities looked really nice, including sports fields and a pool with water slides.

Rusty Skate park

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Brookridge Park

3.0 mi

Review Visit: October 11th, 2014…read more Another park visited in Bloomington! This was one of a few parks my dad and I visited while in Bloomington. In fact, I have written many blogs on them as of late. So if you are tired of seeing Park blogs, I am almost done for awhile. Anyways, on to the park! This one is a bit more ambitious than your standard park. It has a football field and a basketball court. May be the first park I've been to that has a football field. Then it has your typical playground and some covered areas for grilling/cooking out. There are some large open fields to wander and feel at peace. Overall, it was a decent park. There was a section of some fake grass/cement that needed repair (as seen below). Not sure what was up with that. I do remember the wide open fields were nice. It's not the best park Bloomington-Normal has, but it's not the worst. Definitely check it out if you are in the area and need to wear your kids out.

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Anderson Park

3.1 mi

Nice too come sit down on 80 degree day. No shade at the park. Nice pool next too the park. It's…read morevery nice for my son. It seem in the summer months that the kids want to go to the pool more than the park lol

Savannah Green Park

4.7

4.1 mi

Had a good walk around this park in Normal that's in a residential area. It covers a pretty small…read morearea so it's easy to get around it. Savannah Green Park is pretty much a green space for the nearby residents. Features include a basketball court. There's also a playground, so it's good for kids. For a small residential park it's pretty okay for what it is. It's certainly not a park that has enough of a reason to come to from other parts of town. This is pretty much used by those who live nearby, like those across the street and whatever. Has a basketball court with a few baskets. You can also have a picnic in the small pavilion that has a few tables. Main feature is the playground. There's standard equipment like slides and swings. Good park for this area. It's located on Bull Street at Hull Street. This is mostly used for playing, but it can also be used for picnics, and other things.

Cute park with lots of room to run and play. Basketball court. Pavilion with picnic tables. Water…read morefountain. Updated playground equipment. Dog friendly. Fenced in. Quiet neighborhood. Not a meanie Mom hang out. Just a cute, safe little neighborhood park!

The Playground

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Gazebo

Eagle Crest Park

5.5 mi

Review Visit: June 10th, 2015…read more Warning - There are no eagles to be seen at this park. So, here we are, reviewing another park during my park-visting blitz of 2015. Eagle Crest is one of those parks that is part of a well-off subdivision. It's not a gated subdivision, so the park can be accessed by anyone and everyone. The subdivision itself is really nice as is the area surrounding the park. I would've loved to have a small park in my backyard as a kid. As for the park itself, it's your standard park. It has swings and a jungle gym. The jungle gym is really nice and is a few units put together. There is a basketball court with two hoops; though the hoops aren't aligned, so playing a full game might be awkward and hard. There is a gazebo with a grill next to it, so you could host some birthday parties here or just have a nice cookout on a beautiful day. That's about it. Overall, a nice park. Small, but it's probably the perfect size for the neighborhood.

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Carden Park

5.0

4.7 mi

Nice park that has a good sized playground with many swings and slides and climbing areas. It's a…read moregood place for kids over 2 but also has baby swings that are good for infants. There's also a large grassy area that's used for soccer on the weekends and basketball courts. On the perimeter, there's a running/bike path that's probably 1/4 mile and is rarely busy.

Urbana Indoor Aquatic Center

4.7

49.0 mi

Landmark review: I have been here twice for birthday parties…read moreand this is not a bad park district pool. It has a nice splash pad zero depot pool with a slide at the opposite end. The kids seem to enjoy these birthday parties a lot. No one really checks the guest list when you host a private party. You also get access to the party room upstairs. All of this for 125 dollars which covers 2 hours and 15 guest. Given the low price I can see why lots of families host birthday parties at the pool.

This is one of the nicest park aquatics centers in this part of Illinois. It is availablle for lap…read moreswim, water exercise, lessons, free swim, reserved parties, and more. The air and water temperatures are kept at national standards, the staff is totally professional, the guards are very well trained and supervised, and the kiddie pool is wonderful for tykes and their parents.

Sholem Aquatic Center

3.3

(6 reviews)

45.7 mi

As an early bird, there is nothing that beats an early morning swim, especially when it gets to be…read moreat an outdoor pool on a beautiful cool summer morning. Sholem provided the perfect spot for this morning's swim! While I can't speak to this facility during a busier time, I can speak to my experience in the pools earlier hours. I was able to walk up to their admission desk and, after talking briefly with the friendly desk worker, I paid my $6 to swim and headed into the locker room. During my swim, there was never more than 4 people in the pool and I was able to swim in one of their 3 lanes for most of my swim. Additionally, while the air was a little chilly this morning, the pool temperature was perfect! I thoroughly enjoyed my swim and would recommend this spot to anyone looking. I also eyed a pretty awesome lazy river that I'd like to take a few laps through if I find myself itching to swim again before I head back to St. Louis!

I was only here once, but had a great time. A cheap way to cool off and have some summer fun! The…read morewaterslides are awesome. Remember to flatten your body to get that speed! Didn't try the lazy river-those things have a history of making people sick. Tons of fun splashy play type stuff for little kids. The only reason they don't get five stars is the lack of a diving board. Come on people, if you're going to spend a ton to build a massive aqua complex, you put in a diving board.

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Two water slides

Shirk Center

3.3

1.8 mi

Poor choice of machines, often too busy to get in a good workout as well. More amateur gym goers…read morewon't have much of a problem though.

Great indoor track field. Not much sitting room. Overall nice track, parking not terrible.read more

Holiday Park & Pool

3.8

(4 reviews)

1.7 mi

Review Visit: October 22nd, 2014…read more Holiday Park was a nice stop in Bloomington. It came at the tail end of a day of exploring a lot of parks in Bloomington. From what I remember, it was a pretty nice park. Bigger than I was expecting. There is a pool/swimming area for people of all ages to enjoy. It was closed for the season when I visited. There was a big lake adjacent to it that was nice to walk along. It would've been cool to experience the water park, but there is always another day. If you are in the area and the season is just right, take your family/kids/friends/strangers (okay, maybe not strangers) to the park. Between the pool, playground area, a lake to walk along, its a nice little gem of a place to visit.

We love holiday pool. The facilities are great, the staff is friendly, and we always have a good…read moretime there. The extra hour for members before the pool is open to the public is a great perk.

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G J Mecherle Memorial State Farm Park

2.4 mi

Beautiful, spacious park with deluxe pool, shelters, grills, playgrounds, mini golf, disc golf,…read moreball field, tennis, volleyball, and pickleball courts, fishing. Access limited to State Farm employees and retirees.

Great facility! Fantastic picnic areas and shelters. The pool area is amazing with water slides…read moreand lazy river. Mini golf is always fun too. The only downside is they just don't let you bring in alcohol. :-(

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Anytime Fitness

3.5

(14 reviews)

4.4 mi

Visiting for the wkend from Minneapolis. Nicest Anytime by far. Very clean and well cared for…read more Large amount of free weights and functional fitness area with kettlebells and TRX equipment. In addition a studio area and of course cardio heaven. Highly recommend you visit. Keep up the great work at this location!!!!!!

The best owner around so nice and sweet She will listen to…read moreyour ideas great deal going on now Join for $1 including key fob for first month Very clean gym