Crow Island Park Is Rich In History

Crow Island Park is the second largest park (17.91 acres)in the Winnetka Park District. It's a wonderful place for picnics, nature walks and family gatherings. Thanks to the Winnetka Parks Foundation, Crow Island Park is home to the "Friendship Circle", a permanent fire pit for large bonfires.

Crow Island Park is also home to the Winnetka Historical Society's Schmidt-Burnham Log House, built circa 1837 and was relocated to the site in 2003. To read more visit the Historical Society's website at http://winnetkahistory.org/.

This park is a wonderful stop on any bike tour. Until next time, keep riding.

Bike Riding Weather

Looking at the extended forecast . . . we now have several great days of bike riding ahead of us. That is great news with the July 4th weekend coming up. Enjoy your rides and make sure to let us know how you are doing!

On Wednesday I will share a little information about Crow Island Park.

Keep riding . . .

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Ok, so today may not be the best day for a bike ride. This would be a good day to read about a family and their bike adventure. Check out the Murr Family at http://www.murrbike.com/. There is also links to their facebook, twitter and flickr pages. Here's waht they say about their adventure on Facebook . . . "Brady wears a cape. Jane has 8 imaginary sisters. We're biking across America this summer with kids! We're undertaking this adventure to promote family engagement, health, and environmental mindfulness. Thank you for your support and curiosity!"

The Monday Morning Commute

Since this is the start of the work week for most I thought it would be great to write a little bit about Station Park. It is a great little park right next to the Winnetka Metra Station. It is nice place to visit before your busy day and is even better at the end of a long work day.

Even if you don't have a commute this park is in a great location to the central business district and right across the from the library. There is plenty of seating to read a book or just reflect before moving on to the next step in your busy lives.

Enjoy this beautiful .83 acre park and keep riding . . .

The Heart of Winnetka - Village Green

Village Green is a 3.36 acre park owned by the Village and maintained by the Park District. It is the community gathering point for several large scale events such as Memorial Day Ceremony, Winnetka Children's Fair, Fourth of July Children's Flag Parade/Races on the Green and Veteran's Day. It is a beautiful open space ready to handle large groups.

The playground is slated for renovation in 2011, with the Winnetka Park District currently conducting community meetings to meet the needs of its users. Today at 9:00 am is another of those public meetings. The meeting will be held at the Winnetka Women's Club across from the park, with a site visit as part of the meeting.

Happy Father's Day weekend to all! Make sure to get out and ride with DAD!

Have a picnic at Dwyer Park

Dwyer Park is a great park to meet up with friends for a picnic lunch (especially for those with young kids). There is the great playground and just south of the playground is an open area with a lot of shade (perfect for the picnic portion).

This park is located just west of the Post Office in the heart of downtown Winnetka. Enjoy your visit. Love to see a photo or two from your adventures.

Welcome new families to the Tour . . . Free Family, Whalen Family, Merlin Family.

Keep Riding!

Welcome to the Tour

A quick "shout out" to the first families to sign up for the 2010 Tour de Winnetka Parks.

Hope you are enjoying the ride . . . Hall Family, Hovey Family, Gardener Family, Cohen Family, Moloney Family, Howard Family, Weber Family and Burke Family.

Hope to hear about your adventures this summer. Feel free to post on this site, share your own photos, videos, etc.

Keep riding and enjoying your summer at the Winnetka Park District!

Ride or "Hop" on Down To West Elm Park

Just east of Skokie Playfield down Elm St. is West Elm Park. This park is a beautiful open space maybe best know for the visitor that comes by every spring. Any guesses?

Enjoy the summer weather this weekend. Lots happening in Winnetka this weekend, including opening weekend at the beaches, antique show at the Winnetka Ice Arena and the Children's Fair at Village Green.

. . . keep on riding

Skokie Playfield - The Hub of the WPD

On the self-guided tour you will find all rides start and finish at Skokie Playfield. This 162.55 acre park is our largest park with a majority of our facilities including . . . A.C. Nielsen Tennis Center, Winnetka Golf Club (9 and 18 holes), Winnetka Ice Arena, Platform Tennis Facility and our Administrative Offices. A great deal of our open space at the park is home to baseball, soccer, girls and adult softball, football, lacrosse, field hockey, t-ball, sports performance camps and more. On an given day there is something going on here! Special events such as Oktoberfest (October 2 this year) use the central location as an ideal setting for the community to get together.

The Winnetka Park District has been working on an updated master plan for this area. Information about that project is available at http://www.winpark.org/ under Skokie Playfield and Strategic Plan. The community will be asked about their future thoughts regarding this park during our community-wide survey that will go out this month.

Read more about the history of Skokie Playfield in the 2010 Tour de Winnetka Parks packet available at the Administrative Office (540 Hibbard Rd.)

The next blog entry will feature information about West Elm Park.

Get your beach passes (beaches open June 11) and stop by the antique show at the Winnetka Ice Arena this weekend and most of all . . . keep riding.

Let The Touring Begin

On Saturday, June 5 the Winnetka Park District held an open house and ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Service Center. This facility located at the landfill (behind the Village Public Works) serves as operation headquarters for the Parks Department. It is fitting to share a photo of the event as we start the self-guided 2010 Tour de Winnetka Parks. The park staff are those individuals responsible for the landscape and beauty of our parks. They quietly go about their job with little or no fanfare. Thank you Robert Smith and the rest of the parks staff for doing such a good job!

Look for my next posting tomorrow as I will share a little history about Skokie Playfield, the starting and ending point of all the tours. Did you pick up your tour packet yet?

Start riding . . .