Review for Harrer Pool parties only: Don't. We contacted the park district 1 month prior to…read moreintended party date to pay deposit to secure the party room. After scheduling and paying deposit for the pool party and confirming we have 1 hour set up and 1 hour post party to clean up, we tried to contact the Harrer pool coordinator for room specs, table number, size, chairs and equipment availability so we know what we needed to buy or not buy..table covers wall decor and such. Nothing. Emails and phone calls not returned. Was contacted 2 days prior to party by the new coordinator only to be asked about the cake. Coordinator told my daughter, the birthday celebrant's mom, we had to be out of the room exactly at noon. We were pushed out at 1145.. why? They had their own party to go to. Will never opt for a party space that NEEDS to have a coordinator on site. Have used the field houses for parties before and will continue to use them again. OR will rent Oriole Pool party room and instead (as long as that particular "party planner" is NOT part of the deal) So terribly disappointed.

This review is purely for the 'open' volleyball Thursday nights. I've gone to the gym for years…read more The workers there are friendly and helpful. The older woman that looks to head this "open" volleyball seems to pick and choose when she would like others to take part. My friends and I have slowly started to participate in the open volleyball here, but have noticed that her attitude towards us participating is not very kind. We come from different suburbs in the Chicagoland area - not exactly close. But we're turned away because she felt that they couldn't let one more team play (even though other players told us we were welcome). Third week in a row we were given attitude while trying to take part in "open" volleyball. I would suggest MG park district try to come up with a sign up sheet or better method of signing up to partake in "open" volleyball. Because if I have to travel from far to only be told I cannot play, it should not be called "open" volleyball. We would have made other arrangements to play had we known we would be told we cannot play there. Instead we wasted 45 mins trying to arrange another court to play. Unprofessional and rude.

I keep finding myself back to this park ever since high school. They have plenty of outdoor…read moreactivities like basketball, sand volleyball, pickleball/tennis, and baseball. Big area to picnic with bathrooms. The lights stay on until about 11 pm during the summer/fall. They also have a waterpark. Great park for all ages. No issues with parking.

This review is for the pool. I grew up going to this pool every summer. I recently went here for…read morethe first time as an adult to bring my own child. It looks exactly the same and they have managed to keep it in good condition. It's nothing fancy but it's clean and well kept. I love that they have two kid pools, one with a bunch of fountains and that connects to slides and another that is more basic/quieter. There was plenty of seating and lots of staff/lifeguards around. They do adult swim for the last 10 min of each hour. One less star because it is very expensive for non-residents ($18 per person). My infant was free, thank goodness. I guess if I think about it that is about the cost of a movie ticket. Anyways, I will probably not be going as often as I would like because of the cost.

There is some beatiful parks and lakefront property that Evanston can boast about. There are also…read moremany parks and walking trails that go all the way from the lakefront to Dodge Ave. On my last visit I was checking out the lush greenery and lakefront property that can be found by Sheridan/Church St. near the boat launch area.

I can honestly say I probably spend half of my summer at the Evanston sailing beach and the…read moreEvanston dog beach. My dog even gets excited when we drive by on Sheridan Road. All the facilities are top notch with clean facilities and groomed beaches. The staff are always friendly and do their jobs well. We keep a sailboat at paddle board down at the sailing beach for easy access and it's easy to find street or lot parking to enjoy a day on the water!

The Wilmette Community Recreation center houses 2 modern playgrounds, a preschool, tennis courts,…read morebaseball fields, state of the art gym facilities for adults and little ones, and a variety of indoor and outdoor extracurricular activities for all ages. The indoor facilities and the outdoor grounds are all very well maintained. The large playground was rebuilt last year and is one of the nicest ones in the North shore area. The small playground (which is part of the preschool) is fully fenced and has a splash pad that operates during the summer months. There is an outdoor walking path that loops around the entire Rec center and an indoor running path at the fitness center. There is also a state of the art gymnastics facility for toddlers to big kids. Overall, this is an excellent recreation center that is very well maintained and has just about everything. The only negative aspect of this center is that the playgrounds can get too crowded when all the kiddos from the preschool, summer camps, and enrichment programs all come out to play. Otherwise, very highly recommended.

One of the best parts about living in Wilmette is coming to this community recreation center run by…read morethe Wilmette Park District. Here they run a variety of activities for children as well as adults and seniors. Almost any activity you can think of including sports, fitness, dance, theater, gymnastic and art are offered here. They are always adding new things that are popular. My son just started a video game design class which is really up his alley. During holidays and throughout the year they put on special events for families to enjoy. They run a very good preschool which is one of the most affordable in the area, but make sure you book it early because it fills up fast. The quarterly book that they send to the residents is huge and nicely laid out with programs. You can register for classes with ease online or there. Not only that, but the staff are all very helpful. If there was ever a time when we were not completely satisfied or were suddenly unable to attend, we were refunded our money and never given a hard time. Anyone can sign up for the activities here, however it is just less expensive if you are a resident. What I love the most is the convenience of everything being in one location, so I'm not running all over the place. I also like how many options there are. We are always trying something new and fun. They put on the cutest theater productions and tickets are not expensive. The rec center has alot to offer so check it out for yourself!

Dreams has been a godsend for us! My daughter expressed a lot of interest in gymnastics and after…read moredoing a winter entry level class at our park district, they agreed she was too advanced for her age level program, but couldn't put her in anything different until the following fall! We didn't want to wait that long to pursue her interest so I quickly did some research and moved her to Dreams. We have been doing classes now for 5 months...she has moved up 3 levels and about to do a pre-team class this coming fall! The amount she has learned in such a short time has been amazing to see. Coach Paige is fantastic! Andrew, Amy and Arthur have also made it such a positive experience. Highly recommend!!

I do not have personal experience with myself or anyone I know taking a class here, and I am sure…read morethey are wonderful. However, I called to see if one of my students on the autism spectrum would be able to join in a class with the support of an outside aide. Dreams was not open to even meeting this student or having her try a class. They said they "Tried it once and it didn't work out." It is incredibly disappointing that there are still places in this world, and in our local community, who are not accepting and open minded to differently abled children. As the rest of the world works to become a more inclusive and tolerant place, I hope Dreams takes a look at themselves to figure out how they can be a part of it. My experience with them was not positive, and they should be ashamed.

Nice place to play pickleball. They have pickleball available from 7:00a.m. - 3:00p.m…read more Monday-Friday on a drop in basis (only until noon when schools are out). They have four courts available and plenty of people to play with unless the weather outside is good. It's $6 single play or you can pay for 10 plays for $40. They also have basketball available after 3:00p.m.

Figure I share this info since I bet there are quite a few people around Chicago looking for an…read moreaffordable indoor basketball gym. Hamlin Park cost $40 an hour to use their basketball court. No thanks Xsport cost $20 - Ok but no one is there to play with and most of my friends wouldn't pay that much to play basketball. I found 1 public park that has free indoor gym but that place only have 2 rims which mean a very long wait. I found out about Golf View from a friend and I was so glad to know about this place. $5 to use their basketball court if you are under 18 or $8 for 18+. This is a day rate not hourly which is perfect. This place has 12 rims and plenty of people there on any given day playing basketball. Perfect!!! I peeked around and it seems they offer a nice fitness room. Their monthly rate isn't bad comparing to other fitness center.

This is a great center for seniors. Lots of classes and services for seniors. The fitness rooms…read morehas number of aerobic machines and weights. Sometimes the place is crowded and others not. You have to gauge your time otherwise there can be a wait to use the more popular machines. Staff are wonderful. You feel welcome here.

Be aware that the people at the DMV department at the Levy center are unskilled . My poor husband…read morewasted half his morning going there to replace his Wisconsin plates with current Illinois plates . The woman who waited on him insisted on a social security card . Mind you he had his passport, drivers license (and his social security number memorized) . Really awful to allow this kind of ineptness.

I came here for a volleyball tournament and oh my god this gym is so nice the weight room alone…read moremight be enough reason for me to transfer. There's different sections specifically for different teams (oh to be D1). There's also a Protein Bar and Kitchen near the lobby, a perfect snack post-lift for the gains. Overall beautiful gym right by the water, grateful for an opportunity to play here.

I've been to a good number of gyms in my lifetime (from LA fitness to 24 Hours, even to other…read morecollege gyms), and I think SPAC is just okay. Yes, the facilities are clean and pretty spacious, but I think the machines are really limited. For example, there are a limited number of cardio machines, and they fill up really quickly if you go at peak hours. The weight/stretching area is also pretty small and can get packed fast. I've tried one of the free classes (yoga), and maybe it's because I am admittedly a bit of a yoga snob, but it was way too easy and barely a workout. I'll be sticking to LA fitness for now (even though SPAC is free for me).

Jeff gave us a birthday experience we will not forget! Jeff is incredibly hospitable and kind. We…read morefelt as though we spent the evening with an old friend. Paired with the backdrop of the beautiful Chicago skyline, you can't go wrong choosing Jeff and Two Brothers Sailing for your next water adventure. Thanks, Jeff! - April and Greg

Reading the reviews previously posted, I'm glad you all had a nice time…read more I did not. Father's Day adventure for my 96 yr old dad. $200/hr, for up to 10 people, for 2 hours. That's what we signed up for. Started out with Captain Jeff not responding when we were trying to find the dock. We arrived a bit late, only to find that Captain Jeff had picked up another fare in the meantime, so we enjoyed our KFC on the two picnic benches near the dock. When Captain Jeff was ready for us, seeing my dad in a wheelchair, he threw up his arms and said "Well I don't know how we're going to do this!"... We let him know that our dad could walk and we proceeded to board the boat. An ass right off the bat. On the boat - Bait and Switch time. Captain Jeff before starting the engine, needed payment... payment for what, I thought, my sister pre-paid the $400. He went on to tell us we had too many people, 6 person limit, and we were 3 people over. There would be an additional charge for 3 extra people for two hours. What? The deal was up to 10 people... later on the confirmation sent to my sister stated 6 persons, which she never would have gone for since we had more than six from the beginning... He wouldn't start the engine until the credit card went through... this also set the mood for this voyage... Captain Cat was sailing the boat, while Captain Jeff joined the party... Why two Captains?... because Captain Jeff hung out with everyone talking mostly about himself and primarily about all his motorcycles with my brother-in-law, who incidentally thinks the captain was enjoying some Rum, which would explain a lot knowing he was intoxicated. Nice day weather-wise, calm, had to use the engines often. Storm threat was minor, yet we ended up returning to the dock 1/2 hour early, later told for "safety and welfare of passengers"... But don't worry, we do have a Credit for $100.00 for our next booking. Really? There's a $100 bucks down the toilet... Oh and that reminds me, I have to mention here or my sister will kill me, while she and her husband were dangling their feet off the back of the boat, they saw in the water what looked like feces coming out from under the boat... Sorry to end my story with that, but that's what they said. Seems like we had a totally different experience, and a totally different Captain Jeff. Unforgettable for sure.