The beach area has been slightly updated! They cleaned up the front so it's a flatter walk onto the…read moresand and out to the water now- used to be a slight incline to get past. More signage and a lifebuoy have been installed as well at the front of the beach

My family & I love going to Porter beach for the day! We've been doing this for years. It's not…read morethat far away from Rockford, so it makes a nice day trip or overnight, staying at a nearby hotel.

Beautiful beach, clean, they have lifeguards at this beach, small area for concessions, there is an…read moreobstacle course also & a view of Chicagos sky line in the distance, a must see!!

We ended up at Whihala Beach by accident when the nearby Hammond Beach was inexplicably closed…read more Drive past the casino parking lot and you will end up in the beach parking lot. There is a small sand beach by the restrooms, but the nicer and larger part of the beach was accessed by a board walk at the far end of the parking lot. Parking is $5 per hour, paid at a kiosk near the restroom. The water was clear and nice and the beach a mix of sand and pebbles. Overall it was a nice place. Farther down there was a fun looking play park. There's likely parking near there as well. It's called Whoa Zone.

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).

As a board of directors, we are very appreciative when we receive feedback from members, guests or…read moreeven former members and want to thank you for your comments. In reviewing them, it is obvious that you have had some strong concerns about how things have occurred in the past and some of the previous communication about these situations. First and foremost we are a member-driven organization, but more than that we are a place where our members can come to enjoy their time with friends and family in a safe, relaxed and fun environment. At the "V" we consider ourselves more than a pool; it is really a place in the neighborhood where our member families can enjoy the summer! Just like any organization, we have some things that require maintenance like the pool, the grounds and our clubhouse. Over the past 2 years, we needed to put in place a "special assessment" that would allow us not only to improve the pool facilities, but to enhance the experience of our club through a renovated pool house, improved landscaping to our grounds and a clean and safe pool. I would encourage any existing, new or future members to come and see the architectural plans we will be executing on our pool house this year, they are remarkable! I think that you will find as although we have a focused improvement plan on the above areas, we also continue to focus on improving the overall experience for our member families. The "V" has a long standing reputation as a positive environment in our community and for our member families, we will continue to grow and foster this reputation. We realize that what we provide may not appeal to everyone but also know that the our communal grill area, scenic grounds, competitive swim team, social activities for both adults and kids, affordability and general fellowship do appeal to many families in our community. We look forward to Opening Day this year and hope that you'll consider joining us again!

No star...ur not respect the people when they comming from far away 35 min..I called and asked ..I…read moretold them I don't have membership and they said yes u can com and pay for it ..and when I come never allowed to me to enter ..no respect no good stuff..unfortunately..iWill never ever get back