-
About
- Facilities
-
Programs
Pre-K (0-5 yrs)Youth (6-17 yrs)Adult (18+ yrs)
-
Parks/Beaches
ParksOutdoor Activities
- Events
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Parks and recreation are vital to mental health and well-being.
The Park District of Highland Park is proud to join the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) to raise awareness about mental health.
To kick-off the month, turn off your screen and turn on LIFE! Screen-Free Week is celebrated every year in the first week of May. This week, celebrated all over the world, is an invitation for everyone — children, adults, and entire communities — to switch off completely from staring at screens and take a well-deserved break. We are offering a variety of events this week.
“Camp was not just a way to pass the summer break, but a vital part of who we became.” Michael Eisner, former CEO of The Walt Disney Company, talking about how he and his business colleagues look back on their summer camp experiences.
The wonderful summer sports camps run by the park district offer your child seven weeks of fun and games, running around outdoors with their friends.
And that used to be enough.
Now, the experienced coaches, counselors, and student-athletes who teach the fundamentals of a wide range of sports—including baseball, basketball, golf, and soccer—provide campers with much more than a respite from school and a glimpse of glory as “the boys & girls of summer.” We’ll get to the extras after this short break to tell you what happens each week.
While all of that fun is happening, kids are learning some mighty important life skills, from caring adults they trust—their coaches and counselors:
Troy Hoffmann, Athletic Supervisor at the Park District, said “These are things that help shape kids into good people, and we emphasize them every day. Happily, none of them require looking at a screen!”
While the Varsity Sports Camp is great fun for everyone, if your young sports enthusiast is a girl in grades 3–6, take a look at our Girls Play Strong camp. It’s filled with special features designed specifically for them.
We’re looking forward to seeing your child this summer!
The Park District of Highland Park recently purchased a battery-powered string trimmer, blower, push mower, and ride-on mower to go along with the battery-powered golf cart for the routine maintenance of the park.
The use of electric equipment at Larry Fink Park will result in a number of benefits, including:
In addition, the Park District added electric blowers push mowers and sting trimmers to Sunset Woods Park, Danny Cunniff Park, and The Preserve of Highland Park.
Our trim mowing crew will also utilize electric blowers and sting trimmers along with an electric ride-on mower.
The Park District of Highland Park is partnering with Moraine Township Food Pantry to collect non-perishable food items to provide families in need with meals over Memorial Day Weekend.
The Moraine Township Food Pantry is always in need of donations. If you can’t supply the above Memorial Day Meal items, please consider donating the following at our facilities:
The Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla is providing free safety checks for Park Avenue boaters starting at 9am on Saturday, May 27. Safety checks are by appointment only and will be on the following dates:
There are new important federal regulations relating to safety equipment that will be reviewed online and/or when setting up your appointment so that you will be prepared to pass your vessel safety check. Please contact Donna Feldman at 847.597.8125 to schedule your vessel safety check.
Boaters towing their vessels may also schedule safety checks in Deerfield. Contact Donna Feldman at 847.597.8125. Please slowly and clearly leave your name and phone number. Please allow one to two days for a response.
If you have any questions about the Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla vessel examination program, please feel free to contact Donna.
All USCG Vessel Safety Checklists must be PASSED prior to launching motorized vessels.
Staff provided construction updates for the Fink Park Athletic Field Development project, Sunset Valley Golf Club Bridge Replacement project, Deer Creek Racquet Club Locker Room Improvement project, and the Centennial Ice Arena Facility and Site Renovations and the Rink Floor Replacement projects.
The Park Board of Commissioners went into closed session pursuant to the following sections of the Open Meeting Act: Section 2(c)5 – the purchase or lease of real estate including discussion on whether a certain parcel of property should be acquired.
Staff reviewed the bid openings for the 2023 Asphalt Improvements project, the 2023 Park Avenue Dredging project, the 2023 Weeding and Landscape Services project, and the 2023 Hidden Creek AquaPark Deck Chairs Replacement project. The asphalt bid includes two alternatives to convert 10 or 12 tennis courts into pickleball courts at Danny Cunniff Park. Staff presented permanent and temporary options for the pickleball court conversion. Based on feedback from the Finance Committee, staff will further investigate temporary solutions for additional pickleball courts at Danny Cunniff Park and bring a recommendation back to the Park Board of Commissioners. Staff will request that the Park Board of Commissioners approve the base bid and alternates, excluding the pickleball court conversions, from Troch-McNeil Paving Company, Inc at the upcoming Regular Meeting.
While staff received approval from the Park Board of Commissioners to enter into a five-year lease agreement with EZGO for golf carts, staff explored the costs to purchase the EZGO carts and GPS through Sourcewell and found there is a significant savings. Staff received consensus from the Finance Committee to place the purchase of the EZGO golf carts and GPS on the consent agenda at the Regular Meeting.
Staff presented the two proposals for the design of the Park Avenue Access Improvement Project. Staff are recommending that the Park Board of Commissioners approve the contract with Hitchcock Design Group for the design and engineering of the north beach at the upcoming Regular Meeting.
Staff presented three renovation options for the Deer Creek Racquet Club Locker Room Improvement project.
The Park Board of Commissioners approved the 2023 Weeding and Landscape Services bid, the 2024 Sunset Valley Golf Club Golf Cart and GPS Purchase, the 2023 Asphalt Improvements bid, the proposal with Hitchcock Design Group for the design and engineering of the north beach at Park Avenue, the 2023 Park-Avenue Dredging Project re-bid, and the 2023 Hidden Creek AquaPark Deck Chair Replacement bid.
Golf.
Our golf camps offer all the benefits of team sports—being active both physically and mentally, being outdoors, making lifelong friends, and learning a game that your child can play for life—with one big difference: the outcome is all up to them.
Yes, golfers like to play twosomes and foursomes. But it’s all about what the individual does on the course that ends up on their scorecard. So if your child is ready to spend a summer playing a game where they are in control, we have a special sports camp that’s perfect for them.
The Highland Park Golf Academy week-long summer camp is a half-day of intense fun where players are immersed in a game that never gets old, never gets boring, and is never the same two days in a row. Students at the Golf Academy dive deep into the fundamentals: grip, proper swing techniques, driving, and putting. Plus the rules of the game, club selection, and proper course etiquette are part of every session. Our pro instructors emphasize self-esteem along with goal-setting—two skills that are important in every other aspect of life: from family, to school, to business. The great Tiger Woods said it best: “Achievements on the golf course are not what matters. Decency and honesty are what matter.”
Playing golf is fun, and we make sure that your child has a great summer! But just taking a club and whacking a ball around ends up being frustrating and disappointing. “Young golfers often just want to smash the ball as far as possible,” says Rob Saunders, PGA pro instructor at the Golf Academy, “and they end up hitting long and wrong time after time.” Students in this camp can spend plenty of time on the driving range swinging for the fences. (Actually, there aren’t any fences.) But individual time spent on the attached Par-3 course, practicing the all-important short game, will pay even bigger dividends for your golfer when tallying up the score at the end of a round with their friends.
Golf teaches discipline: there are rules, and everyone has to follow them to be successful. Golf teaches players to control their emotions: your child will learn to focus on the next shot, and not be overwhelmed by a bad one. Golf teaches responsibility and integrity: The Legend of Bagger Vance anyone? (Hint: The ball moved.) Golf teaches the value of being quiet: while a golfer plans each shot, and while other players line up their putts. Being quiet in the great outdoors, on a beautiful course, might just be the thing your child ends up liking the best about the game.
Does golf sound like the thing for your child? Sign them up for a week or two of summer camp at the Golf Academy where we help every child get started (or get better) playing this great game where what they do makes all the difference.
Calling all art critics!
The semi-finalists have been chosen, and now it is your turn to weigh in on the design you believe best suits the two concrete structures at Moraine Beach. Residents will have until Tuesday, April 11, 2023, to vote, and the Park District Board of Commissioners will determine the final winning design.
In February, the Park District of Highland Park and The Art Center Highland Park began seeking submissions to decorate the two concrete structures at Moraine Beach. Artists were invited to submit their family-friendly concepts/designs for the two installations. A panel of judges from the Park District of Highland Park and The Art Center selected the semi-finalists, whose designs are now being shared with the community for feedback. The Park District of Highland Park Board of Commissioners will choose the final winning design. The Park District Highland Park will award a stipend of $250, and The Art Center Highland Park will award a $250 tuition credit for the winner(s).
One of the most popular education centers on the Northshore is getting ready to unveil a brand new set of interactive exhibits, all about the wonders of the world that surround Heller Nature Center. These beautiful displays have been specially designed to replace or enhance the beloved exhibit areas that have been inspiring kids and families for more than 20 years. The combination of traditional materials and new technology makes each of the areas easily accessible to all ages and fun for everyone. Here’s a peek at what’s to come.
If the name alone isn’t enough to get kids excited, this new exhibit will give them a hands-on lesson into the circle of life. Designed to replace the current Flying Squirrel display, there are individual pieces showing a variety of animals that you can place where you think they belong, based on guessing “Who Eats Who.” Each magnetized piece will generate a sound when put onto the display: Yum if you’re correct, and Yuck if you’ve guessed wrong. Keep trying (and remember what you’ve done before!) until every piece is in just the right spot.
The multi-sensory and multi-purpose Creature Theatre is a unique area where families can discover, play, and create their own stories. There are scent boxes, where you can test just how good your nose for nature is. Look closely around the exhibit and you’ll discover lots of natural items, including pine cones, animal bones, insects and much more. Puppets are waiting patiently for you in their boxes, and when you find them, you can choose one of the natural play area mats—a pond, a prairie, or a forest—to help make up your own nature story. Then, act it out in the Theater! This is a creative space you’ll come back to again and again for educational and imaginative play.
We have completely refurbished the existing Prairie Panel display, where you see just how deep prairie roots are in the ground, and how important they are to the ecosystem. These roots are good at reaching water more than a meter deep, and can live for a very long time. The new exhibit includes a crank wheel, so you can “pull up” a prairie root, study the image, and see how deep they actually go. When you’re all done, crank the wheel again and reset the display for the next budding ecologist.
Our Ephemeral Pond area has been retrofitted with a beautiful series of images displaying the importance of these ponds, and the unique animals you’ll find in them. Also known as Vernal Ponds, they are a specific type of wetland that provide habitat for distinctive plants, amphibians, and insects. The unique features of our local ephemeral ponds make this updated display particularly interesting. After seeing the exhibit, go out and find a pond in the area around Heller. You’ll have a new appreciation for all of the visible and invisible life that is sustained there.
We call our large aquarium the Pondarium. It’s a fascinating exhibit that shows not only what you see above the water, but also what’s there to discover if you dig deep into the sediment of the pond floor. It’s a wonderful way for kids to learn that there’s so much more to nature than what’s visible on the surface… and that’s a good life lesson that extends far beyond the pond.
In addition to all of the new exhibits, and the changes made to existing ones, we’ve added a stunning new educational mural around the existing aquarium, and a hands-on learning table. We know you’ll enjoy seeing, touching, and interacting with everything when you visit.
This extensive renewal project has been carefully researched and thoughtfully designed to enhance your ecological experience and educate the community on the natural areas that surround us. We encourage all visitors—young and old alike—to take what they’ve learned indoors and recognize it outdoors as you hike through the wonderfully diverse and ever changing Heller Nature Center grounds each season. We look forward to welcoming you soon!
We are happy to report that the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) has awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to the Park District of Highland Park for its annual comprehensive financial report for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021. This is the 33rd consecutive year the Park District has received the award. The report has been judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program, which includes demonstrating a constructive “spirit of full disclosure” to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the report.
The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management.
Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) advances excellence in government finance by providing best practices, professional development, resources, and practical research for more than 21,000 members and the communities they serve.