The sunny days and long evenings of summer provide the perfect conditions to get active outdoors. The St. Charles Park District offers a multitude of opportunities to break a sweat and have some fun.
Pickleball is the nation’s fastest growing sport, and park district facilities are here to serve those seeking to try out or improve their game. Outdoor courts are free to all and open daily from dawn to dusk at Belgium Town Park, Pottawatomie Park and James O. Breen Community Park. Various parks also offer basketball, sand volleyball and tennis for open play.
Skate parks are available to anyone who wishes to perfect their tricks and stunts whether they’re on a skateboard, in-lines skates or a bicycle. The park district does not provide supervision, and strongly encourages all who use the skate parks to wear helmets and other protective gear.
To learn which parks offer specific amenities, the park district provides an online interactive map. Discover more at www.stcparks.org/interactive-map.
Gather friends or family for a day of something different. The local 9-hole disc golf course is rated a par 3. Located on the north side of Campton Hills Road, west of Peck Road, its wooded terrain makes for challenging play. Players start at the teeing area and then aim discs toward the target—a metal chain link basket affixed to a pole. Please bring your own equipment.
Fitness stations located at Pottawatomie Park help community members tone and strengthen with the use of outdoor equipment. Eight separate stations work a variety of different muscle groups for a total body workout. The equipment, which is wheelchair accessible, is meant for those of all abilities and is open to anybody 13 years of age and older. For an added cardio burst, challenge yourself for a run up the park’s stone steps near the amphitheater.
Fitness and community service come together with one upcoming event. The Rusty Rodeo allows participants to be active while also helping the environment. From 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, August 12, staff members will welcome all people who wish to strengthen the Fox River by helping to remove the rusty crayfish.
“This free event aims to help reduce the invasive species that threatens the health of native crayfish and the habitat they and other river wildlife require,” said Pam Otto, outreach ambassador for the park district. “People can bring wading boots or old closed-toe shoes, and nets and buckets to wrangle rusty crayfish from their rocky lairs.”
On-site naturalists and aquatic ecologists will help identify species as well as discuss the ecological importance of native crayfish. This event is open to all ages and community members are asked to meet on the west side of the Fox River at the Historic Piano Factory Pedestrian Bridge.
Marking its fifth year, the Rusty Rodeo is held in cooperation with the Forest Preserve District of Kane County, the Fox Valley Park District and Friends of the Fox River.
