I don't live in the suburbs, and I don't even wish I did, but every so often you discover one of…read morethese amazing places . . . The Cermak Family Aquatic Center is awesome. A holy-grail destination for summer days with kids. They have a lazy river full of innertubes, and giant 2.5 foot deep pool with a play structure and various splashing items, plus a splash pad, and a junk food concession. It is neither a real swimming pool nor a water park. Not a real swimming pool because the deepest part of the pool is 2.5 feet deep. Not a water park because there's no actual waterslide, though there is a slide ... into the water -- if you grasp the distinction I'm making. But as a consequence this means that you can feel much more comfortable giving even young kids a decent amount of freedom (obviously not too much! be safe!) and generating the kind of wet, chlorinated, hot, happy, exhausted summer day that you may have grown up with as a kid. Chicago is a big city of rich amenities, so there are not a ton of things that I say are clearly worth a 45 minute drive from my house, but this is one of them.

Located inside Forest Preserve District of Cook County; Cermak Woods. Free parking for customers…read more Wonderful recreational area to enjoy with your family and friends. This is a well designed water recreational area. It has been changed, upgraded and redesigned throughout the years, but still here providing a great relaxing service to this community and visitors. You can grab a towel at the nearby Marshalls, and sunscreen as well. Plenty of grocery stores and restaurants nearby if you would like to enjoy a picnic with your family as well. Enjoy this wonderful experience.

My 3 children took swim lessons…read more Pros: the teachers and staff are all very nice and relate to kids well. They have a nice area where the kids can play/relax after class for a few minutes. They use the whole lane of the pool to teach which maximizes swim time. The teachers sometimes have them "group swim" instead of ONLY individual swim which maximizes swim time. They also are very prompt with starting and ending on time. Cons: the teachers they have are not consistent, and so they don't know your child's swim level, and the skills worked on that week is random (whatever the teacher wants to do), so there is a lack on consistency. I also wish there was an option for parents to sit inside the pool area instead of only the option to sit outside of the glass. Overall, I would go for another lesson, but wish for more consistency in skills learned each week.

Been taking my daughter to swim classes here for a couple of years. We were excited to graduate…read morefrom the baby classes, which is 30 minutes of just getting the kids used to being in water and most of the instructors we had did not seem too engaged in the class. Once we got to the 3-5 classes, the instructors were great and my kids loved it. However, we had 2 weeks in a row where, first, my 3-year-old fell in the water and was picked up by another instructor who was walking around the pool. Then the next week, during the last 5 minutes of "play time," my 4-year-old slipped off the wall and was fully submerged and flailing in the water. The teacher (who is great) was with another child. I don't know how long my daughter was under water (it felt like forever), but it was long enough for all five parents watching to bang repeatedly on the class and yell for someone's attention, since the door to the pool is locked and we couldn't get in. Finally, an instructor walking around the pool noticed and grabbed my daughter. During both incidents, the "lifeguard" did not notice either girl and made no move to help either time. After the second incident, we removed my daughter's from the class. I spoke with the manager, Jackie, who was great, discussed how there is no way that should be happening, and offered a full refund. Then she had the supervisor, Marty, call me. He made the situation much worse by repeatedly discussing how young children don't listen by the pool and it causes unsafe situations. I agreed with him, acknowledging that my 3-year-old fell in due to not listening. But my 4-year-old is very nervous by the water and tends to be a very good listener. Despite mentioning this, Marty again discussed how children don't listen and cause an unsafe situation by continually jumping in the pool on the own. Even if my daughter was not listening, there should be no reason a child is fully submerged under the water with no one (especially the lifeguard) noticing until parents finally get their attention by banging on windows and yelling. Marty made the whole experience worse by his attempts to explain why the situation occurred and helped me feel more confident in my decision to transfer the girls to the new Foss swim school (which is also much bigger and cleaner).

They've started turning away Berwyn residents this summer. It's disappointing to have our reliable…read morelocal pool no longer give us access.

Facilities are okay but the bathrooms are so gross. They should have someone cleaning at least…read morehourly. Apart from that pretty nice family friendly place

Oak Brook Park District has won national rewards for servicing the community. I joined when the…read morepandemic lockdown ended. They took down the posters re: fitness room etiquette a few years ago. So, now members listen to there programs & talk on the phone all the time. My purpose is to exercise while I listen to music or a podcast, read a book. Hard to do with the noise from their phones.

This review isn't about amenities--it's about safety and accountability…read more There has been a longstanding, repeated issue involving a member who has engaged in inappropriate and harassing behavior toward underaged lifeguards over multiple years. According to staff reports and community awareness, these concerns have been raised more than once and are not new. What's deeply troubling is the pattern of response. Instead of a permanent resolution, the approach has reportedly been temporary suspensions followed by reinstatement--after which similar concerns continue to surface. If accurate, that is not a meaningful safeguard but rather a cycle. When an organization is aware of repeated allegations involving minors and continues to allow the same individual back into that environment, it raises serious questions about judgment, oversight, and priorities. At a minimum, it suggests a failure to put adequate protections in place for staff. This is not about one incident--it is now a repeated pattern with clear evidence that the executive director and board do not care about the safety of the young women they employ. Anyone considering employment here, or parents with kids working here, should be asking very direct questions about how harassment is addressed and what protections actually exist in practice. The parl district's mandated sexual harassment training for their staff while doing nothing to protect them from harassment from their precious paying members. Until there is clear accountability and transparency, this is a concern the community should take seriously.

Nice and clean, nice layout with a variety of activities for kids. My son loved the little lazy…read moreriver thing and the slides

Dear Sea lion. I am a season pass holder but this place has had some rough patches like this one…read moretime I went with my camp we were stepping on broken glass and one kid had to go to the ER and I cut my foot. They have a huge space of empty land where they can make a good water slide like maybe a water Coaster but Sea Lion acts so cheap when they charge like 3 million dollars for a day pass so theres no reason to not make a good ride. But it gets worse when I was at the snack shack yesterday I spent 4 dollars on a damn snow cone and we got pizza. We got our pizza right away but then they started scrolling on YouTube and then after 10 minutes we told them we were waiting for a snow cone and then it took them 5 minutes make a snow cone. I'm very disappointed Sea lion. In conclusion you guys need to hire better staff, make better slides and clean the park more. My rating 0/10 Don't come here

I had a great time at this water park. I loved the slides and even went off the diving board (I…read morehadn't done that in years). The last 15 minutes of each hour are adult swim, which is nice, although I was with a group of kids and they hated having to get out of the water. We got there early afternoon on a summer weekday and didn't have any trouble finding lounge chairs for our group of 4. Be aware there is very little shade here. There is a snack bar with potato chips and ice cream novelties.

Honestly for me i love it, it's not too far and it's really fun there! not usually packed which is…read moregood but the guards and pretty nice (my baby cousin was going on a slide and a gaurd there asked me if i wanted him to wait her down the slide ) super kind. i will be coming back again this sunday soo see you guys soon :)

The pool is great and the new splash pad is amazing for the kids. The one thing however, is that…read morethere's no age restriction for who gets to come in to the splash pad. The big kids like to come in and play because it's fun but sometimes they're a little rough and the little toddlers get pushed around. The big kids like to go down the tube slide altogether and get stuck in the middle and then the little kids get scared and don't know what to do. I feel like there should be some rules set up. Otherwise, it's an amazing place.

Can use some updating but it's nice that it's covered and you can see if someone is lurking…read more Perfect for smaller kids under 8. Not super packed, bring your own chairs Bc they only have a couple and they are mostly all broken