Skokie Water Playground

Safety, cleanliness and enjoyment are the top three goals of the Skokie Water Playground aquatic staff. Their quest for excellence earned the staff the National Recreation and Park Association's Excellence in Aquatics Award in 1998.

The Skokie Water Playground is the result of $3 million renovation project designed via input from an Aquatics Focus Group involving members of this northern Chicago suburb of 65,000. The focus group, park board and staff ultimately drafted a three-year plan to fund improvements to the district's traditional, zero-depth swimming pool (originally built in 1988), plus the addition of two pools and updated waterpark features.

Facility highlights include 21,000 square feet of pool area and 200,000 square feet of facility space to meet the community's needs for aquatic and non-aquatic activities. Other features are three 120-foot waterslides and a 200,000-gallon zero-depth pool. A tot pool and spray area are separated from the rest of the facility to ensure safety. A second zero-depth pool (100,000 gallons) only reaches four-feet deep.

With 4,000 as its maximum capacity, the facility's non-aquatic areas include a sand volleyball court, sand playground and a basketball court.

Skokie Water Playground offers structured programs to more than 130,000 people during the summer season. Among the more popular are the children and adult "Learn to Swim" programs, "Parent/Tot Orientation," and "Deep and Shallow" exercise programs.

The Skokie Water Playground lifeguards are award winners, too, as the 1997 Regional Lifeguard Champions and fourth place overall in the National Lifeguarding Games.

Skokie Park District's $3 million renovation project converted a traditional swimming pool into a modern waterpark with state-of-the-art pool features and non-aquatic areas including a sand volleyball court, basketball court and sand playground.

The waterpark's 1,400 bather load is spread across two zero-depth pools and one tot pool.

Patrons enjoy the park's three 120 tot foot waterslides.

Architect of Record:
Williams Associates Architects, Ltd.
Wheaton, Ill

Aquatic Design Engineer:
Water Technology, Inc.
Beaver Dam, Wis

Landscape Architect:
Leisure Concept and Design, Inc
Mount Prospect, Ill

Cost: $3 million renovation
Acres: 4
Occupancy: July 1996