THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2008
Plunging Into Pool Season
The sound of barbecues sizzling, children playing outside and the jingle-jangle of ice cream trucks means summer is right around the corner and local pools will soon entertain hundreds of people once again.
Mt. Prospect has three pools, two outdoor and one indoor. The indoor pool is the RecPlex, 420 W. Dempster St. The two outdoor pools are Meadows Pool, 1407 W. Gregory St. and Big Surf, 411 S. Maple St.
Big Surf is also known as "the Wave Pool." The season kicks off over the Memorial Day weekend. The pool goes from zero depth to 12 ft. deep. Waves are on for 10 minutes and then off for 10 minutes with a continuous cycle. It also has two one-meter springboards and a manned concession area.
Big Surf opened in the 1980s and was renovated from a flat-water pool in 1984.
The regular season hours of operation begin Wednesday, June 2 and last through Friday, Aug. 15. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday, noon to 7:30 p.m.; and Saturday, Sunday, and holidays, 11 a.m. to 7:30 p. m.
The bottom of the pool was recently repainted and pool's wave-making fans were also worked on.
Meadows Pool opened in 2003 and features a one-meter diving board, one drop slide, and children's' interactive water activities.
Meadows completed renovations and re-opened three years ago. The pool used to be a flat-water pool but now has immense depth. A new locker room was installed, the admittance area was remodeled, and a grassy area was created so people can lie out in the sun if so desired.
The season at Meadows runs from Wednesday, June 4 through Sunday, Aug. 17. Hours of operation are Monday-Friday, 1 to 4:45 p.m.; Saturday, Sunday, and holidays, 1 to 7 p.m.; and evenings on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 6 to 8 p.m.
There is a preseason opening on Monday and Tuesday, June 2 and 3 from 3:45 to 8 p.m. There is also a postseason from Saturday, Aug. 23 through Monday, Sept. 1 (Labor Day).
Fees for both pools are $5 for adult residents; $4 for youth residents; $7 for non-resident adults; and $6 for non-residents youths.
Another pool in Mt. Prospect is Woodland Trails Pool, 1500 E. Euclid Ave. Part of the River Trails Park Dist., it includes a kiddie pool, main pool, swimming lanes and drop slides.
Hours of operation are Monday-Friday, 1 to 5 p.m. and 6:30 to 9 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 8:30 p.m.; and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. and 6:30 to 9 p.m.
A refreshment stand is located at the west end of the pool building.
In Prospect Heights, the only park district pool residents can visit is Lions Park Pool, 110 W. Camp McDonald Rd.
A grand opening pool party for ages two and older will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, June 6.
Amenities include a zero depth entry, which means people can walk right into the pool without jumping or stepping in. There is one open cover water slide that curves around. There are no diving boards.
Hours of operation are Monday-Friday, noon to 8 p.m.; Saturday, 1 to 6 p.m.; and Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m. The pool will remain open through Sunday, Aug. 17.
Daily fees to swim at Lions Park are $5 for children under the age of 18, $6 for adults and $4 for seniors.
In Des Plaines, Mystic Waters water park, 2025 Miner St. will open to the public on Saturday, May 31 through Aug. 24. There were no renovations made in the off-season, just some minor repainting, said Jennifer Boys, asst. supt. of facilities for the park district.
Daily fees for residents with photo identification are $7 for kids under the age of 18 and $8 for adults. Non-residents will pay $9 for children and $11 for adults.
The other two outdoor pools, Chippewa Pool, 191 N. Eighth Ave. and Iroquois Pool, located at Touhy and Maple will both open on Saturday, June 7. Iroquois will close on Aug. 3 and Chippewa will close two weeks later on Aug. 17.
The three-meter diving board was removed at both pools due to safety reasons, Boys said. In its place is a new one-meter board. Fees for both pools are $5 on a daily basis.
In Park Ridge, at Centennial pool, located on Western Avenue just south of Touhy Avenue, approximately $900,000 worth of maintenance to the infrastructure of the lap pool and children's pool was made after the 2007 swimming season ended.
This year will feature a new baby pool. The old one was leveled and a new one was built in its place, according to Desiree Van Thorre, aquatic supervisor. She also said new filters were installed in the pools.
The pool will open on Saturday, June 7 and close Sept. 1.
Oakton Pool, 2800 W Oakton will open Saturday, May 24 through Aug. 10.
Thorre said the diving well was removed will be replaced with grass. Thorre said the park district had past issues with the diving well being unable to work.
Park Ridge's other two pools are Hinkley Pool, 25 Busse Hwy. and South Park Pool, 833 Talcott Rd.
Hinkley will open Saturday, May 31 and South Park will open one week earlier on Saturday, May 24. Both pools close on Sept. 1. Neither pool had any renovations over the winter.
All daily fees are $5 for residents and non-residents, Thorre said.
In Rosemont, the park district's "Splash Pad", a water feature at Lange Park, will open Monday, June 16 through Aug. 8.
The indoor pool at Rosemont Elementary School is open year-round.
Residents under the age of 16 will pay $1 and over 16 will pay $2. Senior citizens will be admitted free. There is no charge to residents for the Splash Pad.
In Niles, Oasis Water Park, 7877 Milwaukee Avenue, will open on Saturday May 24 through Sept. 1.
This past winter, the center was reconstructed at a cost of $5 million, according to Tom Elenz, finance director.
The 11,000 sq. ft. building has new bathrooms, an additional kiddie pool area, rental rooms for birthday parties, and a concession area.
Iceland Skate and Swim, 8435 Ballard Rd., will open June 14 and close Aug. 17. That pool only saw routine maintenance over the winter.
Oasis will be open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Iceland will be open from 1 to 4:45 p.m., Monday-Thursday, 1 to 6 p .m. on Friday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Daily rates for both pools are $5 for children under 12; $7 for adult residents and $10 for adult non-residents; and $4 for senior residents and $6 for senior non-residents.
In Arlington Heights, there were no renovations to any of the five outdoor pools and daily fees for all locations are $5 for residents and $7.50 for non-residents between 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.; and $2.50 for residents and $4.50 for non-residents after 6 p.m.
The park district also won the Excellence in National Aquatic Award from the National Park and Recreation Association. The award represents an improvement in operations over a five-year period.
The Wheeling Aquatic Center will open its regular season on June 9 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. during the weekend and noon to 8 p.m. on weekdays. Residents will pay $8.50 daily and non-residents will be charged $12.
Lastly, in Buffalo Grove, the Spray N' Play and Willow Stream pools will both open on Saturday, May 31.
Willow Stream will operate from 12:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday and from 12:30 to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Spray N' Play will operate from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday-Friday, noon to 7 p.m. on Saturday, and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday.