Things to Do in Downers Grove, IL (2019) - Town Square Publications

Woodridge Park District

This year the Woodridge Park District is celebrating its 50th anniversary of its founding in October 1969. Because the park district was founded exactly a decade after the founding of the village, the park district is quite pleased to tie into the anniversary weekend of the Village of Woodridge, said Megan Pettit, the district’s public relations and marketing manager.

But the anniversary celebration is simply a blip on the screen. The Woodridge Park District is consistently going full speed ahead, providing recreation and entertainment to its residents, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

A new park is under development between the Ides Grove West and the new Timber’s Edge neighborhoods. The new site is expected to open in summer 2020. Residents of both neighborhoods have been actively involved in the planning process, Pettit noted.

The district is also partnering with Woodridge School District 68 to develop a 400-meter, eight lane running track and an LED-lit artificial turf soccer and lacrosse field at Thomas Jefferson Junior High School. The track will have equipment for both long and high jump events, as well as shot put and discus throwing events. The new facility will relocate on school grounds to include two of the school’s existing baseball fields, which will include paved and sheltered dug-outs, bleachers, backstops, netting and accessible walking paths to the fields.

Students will use the facilities during the school day while the public will have access evenings and weekends, Pettit said.

A new 24-foot-high sled hill is also being built on a 44-acre park site at the Town Centre property.

The 18-hole Village Greens of Woodridge golf course continues to plan for sand trap and bunker renovation and drainage upgrades, said Brandon Evans, golf manager, so the course is taking the opportunity to change the playing characteristics of many of the holes. The course recently completed clubhouse renovations. It can be rented year-round for parties, meetings and other events.

The Village Greens of Woodridge course, which was built by John Henry and opened in 1959 as Maple Crest Lakes golf course, has been owned by the village since 1973 and managed by the park district since 1995.

Downers Grove Park District

Renovations and new facilities are also high on the list at the Downers Grove Park District. A new playground is planned for Hoopers Hollow. Currently in the design phase, it is scheduled to be installed by November.

The 1846 pioneer Blodgett House is also receiving an interior restoration. The home’s exterior was renovated in 2010 and now it is time for its interior to be restored, thanks to a $50,000 grant from the Timken Foundation and a $135,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The house is anticipated to open to the public for the first time ever in early 2020, said Dawn Hartman, manager of marketing and creative development.

The district is also installing a new “sprayground” splash park at McCollum Park, 6801 S. Main St., as well as improving its tennis/pickleball courts and widening and repaving its paths in 2020.

Golfers at the nine-hole Downers Grove Golf Club, 2420 Haddow Ave. on the north side of Downers Grove, are enjoying their first full season of the new driving range, which has 10 heated and cooled bays for a longer and more comfortable golfing season at this historic hidden gem. The new shelter even features lounge chairs for before and after your “driving.”

Run by the park district since 1968, the scenic course was designated by the Audubon Society as a cooperative sanctuary in early 2018. It also offers wedge clinics, run by Cleveland Golf, in which all participants get a free custom golf club.

The District is also expanding its children’s programming in the form of the LINK before and after school program, more early childhood enrichment programs and the “Passport to Fun” summer enrichment program for ages 2-12, Hartman added.

Trips for senior citizens are also plentiful, ranging from a trip to the Halim Time and Glass Museum in Evanston, to a Milwaukee trip to the Miller Brewing Company, to yet another to the Jacob Henry House and the Old Central Church in Joliet.

Private recreational facilities

Private facilities, which offer a wide range of recreational activities, abound in the Chamber 630 area. They offer everything from fitness classes and workout equipment to dance classes, swim classes, indoor golf, conventional outdoor golf, trampolines, kick boxing, ice skating and bowling.

Advocate Good Samaritan Health & Wellness Center
www.advocatehealth.com/gsam/health-services/health-and-wellness-center