As the weather gets cooler, finding activities for the entire family might be getting harder.  Check out these five fun activities to do at the Park District this weekend:

1. Walk Around The Preserve of Highland Park

Bundle up and take your pooch on-leash for a walk around The Preserve of Highland Park.  Temporary informational signs are posted throughout the park that detail the park’s new amenities.  And, check out the new turtle climbing playground!

Stay up to date on The Preserve of Highland Park project

2. Public Ice Skating is Back!

Meet friends and lace up your skates for public skating at Centennial Ice Arena.   Public skate is open  Saturdays between 11:25am-12:10pm.  If you have time during the weekday, take a public skate lunch break Mon, Tue, Thu, or Fri between 11am-1pm.  

If you have your own skates, it only costs $6 for children and $7 for adults.  Need skates?  Only pay $3 more.

Register for public skating online or in person

3. Get Your Sweat On

It’s time to get in shape before indulging in those holiday sweets, treats, and feasts!  Did you know, the Recreation Center of Highland Park offers All Access 7-Day Passes for only $20?  Passes include access to the fitness floor, Group Ex classes, and lap swimming.  

Purchase the All Access 7-Day Pass

4. Read & Play at Heller Nature Center

The whole family will enjoy Constance’s Story Trail at Heller Nature Center.  Just follow the walking trail while reading our featured story: The Rainbow Fish.  While you’re at it, discover nature and play at Wander Woods – a free play natural area designed to nurture a child’s sense of wonder and discovery.

More information on Heller Nature Center

5. Indoor Swimming at the Rec Center

Not ready to let go of summer?  Join us for a splash at our indoor open swim times on Saturdays and Sundays between 12:30-5:30pm.  It’s only $6/person for residents and $8/person for non-residents. 

Learn more about Open Swim

Membership to a dog park is a wonderful way for you and your dog to play and socialize freely in a safe environment with other dogs and owners. Debbie Gottlieb Beitler Dog Park at Larry Fink Memorial Park is Highland Park’s year-round dog park that features two off-leash exercise areas – one for big dogs and one for small dogs.  This park is available to registered dog park members. 

The decision to get a membership to a dog park requires careful consideration on your part to ensure you and your dog have a safe, healthy experience.

Membership is a Must to Enter

If you are considering taking your dog to a dog park, you must be prepared to become a member and keep your membership current.  Membership ensures that your dog and all the dogs in the park are fully immunized and have a current City of Highland Park rabies tag number.  Only current members are allowed into the dog park for everyone’s safety in the park.

Is Your Dog a Social Animal?

It is important to know how your dog acts and plays with other dogs and humans before committing to a dog park membership. If your dog tends to bully or intimidate other dogs or not interact well with other humans, a dog park membership is not a good choice.

Once you have decided that you and your dog are ready to commit to a dog park membership, you should also familiarize yourself with proper dog park etiquette and be prepared to follow that etiquette every time you visit the dog park.

Exercise Your Dog Before Heading to the Dog Park

Believe it or not, you and your dog will have a better experience if you exercise him/her before you go there.  Running off a little steam beforehand will make him more attentive to your commands and a calmer, happier playmate for the other dogs in the dog park.

On-Leash on the Outside

Your dog is only allowed off the leash when you are both safely in the dog park. Keep your dog on a leash and under your control to and from the dog park.

Size Up the Area

If you have a small dog, take him to the “Small Dog (under 25 pounds)” area of the park.  Dogs over 25 pounds should go in the “Large Dog” area.  Sizing up the best area for your pooch allows your dog to play with dogs his size, and no injuries can happen.

Unleash the Hound & Remove Gear

Once you have safely entered the dog park, remove all of your dog’s gear, including choke or prong collars. A plain buckle collar is fine to leave on while at the park. Most dogs innocently nip and nibble at each other’s necks and shoulders during play. Having metal contraptions where another dog is roughly shoving its mouth is inviting broken teeth, broken jaws, broken paws and legs, and potentially a huge dog fight if a dog can’t detach itself from your dog’s neck. Also, take off your dog’s leash once you are safely in the dog park. A dog on a leash is essentially a tripping hazard, especially if the leashed dog begins to play. In addition, dogs on leashes can feel more insecure because they know they can’t escape if they need to, which can trigger fights.

Unplug & Play with Your Pooch

Your number one priority at the dog park should be your dog. Unplug and enjoy the time with your dog; your dog will be happier and safer for it.

Never Let Strangers In

For your safety, your dog’s safety, and the safety of your fellow members and their dogs, you should never open the door or allow non-registered members into the park.  Members must always have their Dog Park key fobs with them.  Even if they say they are a member, don’t let them in

Poop Scoop

For the cleanliness and sanitation of the park, you must clean up after your dog. It makes for a better park experience when the facility is clean.

This fall, we encourage you to safely explore our beaches by following these important guidelines:

• Beaches open at dawn with gates closing at dusk
• Keep a safe distance from the water’s edge, especially when waves are high
• No swimming or wading
• Alcoholic beverages, glass containers, bonfires, grills, dumping and littering are prohibited
• No smoking (including e-cigarettes) or firearms are allowed on park property
• Dogs are not allowed at Rosewood Beach.  At other beaches, dogs must be leashed and cleaned up after
• Feeding wildlife or other actions that encourage their presence is prohibited
• Personal conduct within the park must be such that safety is not jeopardized

It’s that time of year!  Heller Honey is now on sale! Purchase your honey at Heller Nature Center (Mon and Wed, 8:30am-5pm) or at the Recreation Center of Highland Park (Mon-Fri 7am-5pm, Sat and Sun 7am-1pm). It’s $11/jar and $0.25/honey stick or five for $1.

Heller Honey is 100% natural and produced by our very own Heller bees. Try out these yummy kid-friendly Heller honey recipes to get the most out of this sweet local treat. Enjoy!!!

1. Honey Apple Nachos: Give your nachos a makeover and swap out chips and cheese for apples and honey! Cut your apple slices nice and thin and then cover them with Heller honey and your kids’ toppings of choice. It’s a healthy alternative to your traditional nachos, and a sweet treat for snack time!
   
2. Honey Cereal Bars: These are great on the go! Grab your kids’ favorite cereal, ¾ cup of peanut butter, and ½ cup of Heller honey. Throw the peanut butter and honey into a saucepan and let them meltdown until they’re fully combined. Once that’s done, take it off the heat and mix in your cereal until it is evenly coated. Press that mixture into an 8×8 pan and refrigerate it for 1 hour before serving them to your kiddos!
   
3. Homemade Fruit Roll-Ups: These 3-ingredient roll-ups will have your family buzzing! All you need is 2-3 cups of your family’s fruit of choice, 2-3 tablespoons of Heller honey, and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Throw those 3 ingredients into a food processor and blend. Once smooth, pour your mixture onto a pan lined with plastic wrap and spread into a ¼ of an inch thickness. Let those dehydrate in the oven (what temperature?) for about 4-6 hours, and you have your very own fruit roll-ups!
   
4. Honey Oatmeal Energy Bites: These no-bake bites are sure to make you the Queen Bee of the neighborhood! Combine 1 ½ cups of rolled oats, ¼ cup of honey, 1/3 cup of cashew butter, and 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed. Let this mixture chill out in the freezer for about 15 minutes and then roll them into bite-sized balls. Finish them off with a quick roll in some shredded coconut and enjoy!
   
5. Honey Fruit Dip: This recipe is as easy as 1-2-3…which is exactly how many ingredients you need to make it! All you need to do for this yummy fruit dip is combine ¼ cup of plain Greek yogurt, ¼ cup of peanut butter, and 2 tablespoons of Heller honey. It’s really that easy!

1. Move Your Body

Being stuck at a desk for 8-10 hours a day is a one-way ticket to the chiropractor. One of your biggest goals every day should be to get up and get your blood flowing; the more often you can move around, the better! Your body needs to release tension from being endlessly hunched over your keyboard, and your eyes could definitely use a break from the screen while you’re at it!

2. Hydration Is Key

The fountain of youth may be closer than you think…while we don’t know of any magical potions, water can actually work in mysterious ways! Kicking off the day with a glass of water not only boosts your energy but also helps with digestion and enhances your skin health. If that doesn’t convince you to load up on H20, this next fun fact definitely will. Did you know that hydrating all day long can actually boost your metabolism? That means that burning some extra calories can be as easy as refilling your water bottle a few times a day!

3. Make Sure to Hit All the Food Groups

Summer is all about grilling and eating fresh, so don’t forget to get some fruits and veggies in the mix! They are the best source of vitamins and minerals and are full of prebiotic fiber and antioxidants. Making sure your palette is always packed with these fresh foods can lower blood pressure, reduce the risks of heart disease and stroke, lessen digestive problems, and even prevent some kinds of cancer. Nothing is better than a fruit or veggie salad picnic at one of our parks!

4. Catch Some Z’s

With so much to do and what feels like so few hours in the day, too often we trade our precious beauty sleep for some extra loads of laundry and binging the newest season of our favorite shows. While it may seem like a fair trade in the moment, your body needs to recharge, otherwise you will head into the next day like a zombie with no REM sleep. We need 7-9 hours of sleep to be fully functioning the following day, and the sleep that counts the most occurs from 8pm to midnight. Get off your screens a few hours before bedtime and get some quality sleep!

5. Exercise Regularly

While it’s not news that exercise is good for you, you might be surprised at the little ways it can improve your everyday life. Getting 150 minutes of exercise every week can give your daily energy levels a huge boost and release pent-up tension and stress within your muscles. This increased energy can help you avoid a mid-day slump and might just make that endless to-do list seem a little more realistic! The Recreation Center of Highland Park is the perfect place to get your steps in and offers a variety of ways to get your sweat on. The hours of operation are Monday-Thursday: 5:30am–7:30pm (Closed noon-2pm for cleaning), Friday: 5:30am–2pm and Saturday & Sunday: 7am–1pm.

Swap out your typical workout for a pool day! The water is a great place for exercise because it’s fun and a great way to burn fat, strengthen muscles, and aid joint recovery.

1. Water Planks

Grab your pool noodle and work on your core! Start with your feet on the floor and hold your pool noodle horizontally in both hands, with a firm grip. Push the noodle down into the water so that your body is at a slight incline, and try to hold yourself steady for 1-2 minutes. You should feel the burn in your abdominals!

2. Shuffle Slides

While it may seem simple, side shuffling through the water is a great way to tone your thighs. All you have to do is smoothly shuffle from one side of the pool to the other, keeping your movements continuous and consistent! This exercise will target both your inner and outer thighs, giving your legs a killer workout!

3. Bicycle

This exercise will make sure you feel the burn! Lean your back against the side of the pool, stretch out your arms – along the ledge, with your palms down for stability. Bring your knees up towards your chest and begin rotating your legs in forward, circular motions as if you are pedaling a bike. Continue this motion for 30 seconds and repeat it three times. This movement works your core muscles and your legs!

4. Deck Dips

Don’t move! You’ll need to stay by the side of the pool for the following two exercises too. This time rest your palms on the ledge behind you with your fingertips facing forward, gripping the edge. Then bend your knee, either one, so that one of your feet is flat against the wall of the pool. Straighten your arms to raise your body out of the water; and then bring yourself back down. Do ten reps for each leg and repeat three times!

5. Mermaid

Lean your back against the side of the pool and extend both of your arms along the edge. Put your legs firmly together, like a “mermaid tail,” so that your body is in the shape of a “T,” and then lift and lower your legs slowly. This exercise will target all of your leg muscles at once!

Check our pool hours at Hidden Creek AquaPark.

Summer is officially here, and what’s better than spending a perfect day at Rosewood Beach? Consider these helpful tips to plan your trip:

Sun Protection
Did you know it takes about 30-minutes for sunscreen to soak into your skin? Always apply sunscreen before heading off for a beach day in the sun. Reapply sunscreen every two hours, especially if you’re spending most of your time swimming. Get in the habit of adding a fresh coat every time you towel-dry.

Hydration is Key
Anytime you are in the sun for long periods, it’s important to keep your body hydrated. Encourage everyone to have a glass or two of water before heading to the beach. Be sure to bring along a cooler full of water to stay hydrated throughout the day.

Light Snacks
Bring snacks to the beach to stay energized. Fresh watermelon, strawberries, and blueberries are excellent snacks, and their high-water content helps keep your body hydrated.

Bring the Essentials
Bring a large umbrella, sunglasses, hat or even a beach tent to provide a shady escape from the hot sun. Don’t forget lots of beach towels. Not only do they help keep you dry, but they keep you warm if you get chilled from the cold lake water.

Fun Activities for All
Whether it’s shovels and pails for the kids to build sandcastles, a football for a game of catch, or a good book to dive into, don’t forget to pack fun activities for everyone in your party. These extra activities will keep the beach fun going for hours.

Don’t forget to purchase your 2021 Rosewood Beach Swimming Pass and lakefront parking decal. For more information, click here.

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About Rosewood Beach
Rosewood Beach is our designated swimming beach, with lifeguards on duty every day from 10am-6pm. Swimming hours are subject to change depending on weather, crowds, and wave conditions. Certified lifeguards supervise the beach during public swimming hours, regardless of weather conditions. Click here for more information on Rosewood Beach.

The Park District of Highland Park is keeping up with the trends in pickleball and listening to interest expressed by community members for dedicated pickleball courts. This year, the District is converting two of the 12 tennis courts at Danny Cunniff Park to 6 pickleball courts and converting 1 of the 2 tennis courts at Woodridge Park into 2 pickleball courts for a total of 8 outdoor dedicated pickleball courts in Highland Park. This is in addition to the existing indoor pickleball opportunities offered by the Park District at the Recreation Center of Highland Park and Deer Creek Racquet Club.  

Pickleball, a game that combines badminton, tennis and table tennis, provides a number of health benefits—in the form of cardiovascular and metabolic responses for older adults. This is according to new research by the American Council on Exercise (ACE), which showed that pickleball enables older adults to maintain their fitness levels, leading to increased independence even as they age.

Having originated in the 1960s, pickleball uses solid paddles to hit a ball over a net and can be played in either singles or doubles. The solid paddles are made of wood or composite materials and are used to hit a perforated polymer ball over a net. The game is simple enough for beginners to older adults, but also can be fast-paced for those who are more skilled.

The key to exercise is finding a safe and effective workout that brings long-term benefits and lifelong participation. So, for the study, ACE enlisted the help of Lance Dalleck, Ph.D., and his team of researchers in the High Altitude Exercise Physiology Program at Western State Colorado University. The purpose of the study was to “quantify the acute cardiovascular and metabolic responses to pickleball, and to determine the effectiveness of a six-week pickleball intervention at positively modifying cardiometabolic risk factors.”

The research involved recruiting 15 middle-aged to older men and women (40 to 85 years of age). To quantify the acute cardiovascular and metabolic responses to pickleball, participants wore a portable calorimetric measurement system and a heart-rate monitor. The participants played four 15-minute matches (60 minutes of physical activity) three days each week.

Prior to the start of the study, all participants performed a graded exercise test on a treadmill to determine maximal heart rate (MHR) and maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max). The following measurements were recorded at baseline: resting heart rate, body composition, fasting blood lipids, fasting blood glucose, waist circumference and weight. Those same measurements were obtained again after the six-week program in order to determine the effectiveness of pickleball at positively modifying cardiometabolic risk factors.

For example, the chronic cardiovascular and metabolic responses to pickleball showed that after six weeks, “participants saw favorable changes in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and VO2max. Together, these equate to a positive effect on cardiometabolic health.”

Overall, the study’s primary finding is that regular participation in pickleball elicits cardiovascular and metabolic responses that meet exercise intensity guidelines for improving and maintaining cardiorespiratory fitness—with the average caloric expenditure equaling about 350 calories per 60 minutes of participation. Collectively, the findings support pickleball as an ideal form of physical activity for middle-aged and older adults.

This article originally appeared in the September 2018 issue of  Recreation Management Magazine