Recreation

Beginning Wednesday, a portion of the Rock Run Greenway Trail in Joliet is scheduled to close for several months.

A Wellness Workshop –Wellness Workshop – Our Place in Nature: 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 1, at the Sugar Creek Administration Center, Joliet.

The Village of Channahon announced Monday that construction on the I&M Canal Gateway Project at 25450 W. Eames St. is beginning this week.

Forest Preserve District of Will County programs offer plenty of family fun for spring break outings in March.

After an 11-year hiatus, the Kankakee River Valley Regatta has scored a two-year commitment from the American Powerboat Association for a national event for Labor Day weekend 2025.

Hit the road for rides of 100, 55 and 30 miles. Or you can rock it on the trails for a 13-mile, 10-mile or 6-mile ride.

Join a naturalist for a hike to find wildflowers and hear stories of how these beauties were named on Thursday, March 20, at the Raccoon Grove Nature Preserve in Will County.

The Village of Antioch is excited to welcome Katie Kotloski as its new director of parks and recreation.

The Joliet Slammers released the second round of promotions for the upcoming season, which opens Friday, May 9.

Improvements will include the addition of a parking lot, new playground, walking trail, disc golf course, basketball court, and a lighted baseball field

March is Women’s History Month and the Forest Preserve District of Will County will be hosting events to celebrate.

The March session of the Will County forest preserve district’s monthly Wellness Series will feature a presentation from The Conservation Foundation on its NatureRx initiative.

As tickets for spring and summer concert tours, festivals and sporting events begin to go on sale, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul cautioned about ticket scams.

A North American gray wolf will take center stage at the Forest Preserve District of Will County’s Mammal Madness event at Four Rivers Environmental Education Center on Saturday.

Learn the do’s and don’ts for birdhouses and bird feeders at a Forest Preserve District of Will County webinar Wednesday, Feb. 26.

The Friends of the Hennepin Canal will host its next “Hike the Hennepin” event at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 16 at the steel dam, 298 14th St. NE, Milan.

Join the Forest Preserve District of Will County for Fossil Rock Weekend at Four Rivers Environmental Education Center.

Participants will have the opportunity to showcase their euchre skills in a blind draw format, with cash prizes up for grabs for first, second, third and fourth places.

Enjoy a day on the slopes and trails at these downhill and cross-country skiing locations in the suburbs and northwest Illinois.

The Forest Preserve District of Will County will host a Mutts and Mugs program from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2, at Forked Creek Preserve near Wilmington. A 2025 dog park permit is required to attend.

The Forest Preserve District of Will County will host a Mutts and Mugs program from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2, as a social event for dogs and dog owners.

Foundation to hold Jan. 29 public investment meeting for planned riverfront park.

Among the project highlights will be a new playground chock-full of features, plus amenities that add shade at various sites in the park.

Bill Leftwich organizes the Real Men and Real Women Play Basketball in the Half-Court winter leagues, which will begin Sunday, Feb. 16.

At Westwood, The Lab provides various features that are universal to all sports, yet designed specifically for the biomechanical and physiological demands of each individual’s sport.

The Dixon Park District’s Page Park ice rink is open for business. The rink opened at noon Saturday, Jan. 11, closed for a short time after, but reopened Monday.

Morrison’s Winter Park officially opened Saturday, Jan. 11, offering ice skating, hockey goals, and a fire pit to keep warm. A sledding hill is also on site.

The ladies of New Life Lutheran Church’s sewing group know what it means to sew love into every stitch.

It may still have the city’s name in its title, but after 93 years, the Chicago Boat Show has dropped anchor in the suburbs. It runs through Sunday in Rosemont.

Hikers will meet at 1:30 p.m. at Bridge 37 at the Geneseo Campground, 22978 Illinois Highway 82, where they will be shuttled to Bridge 34 to begin.

The Forest Preserve District of Will County’s annual celebration of bald eagles will be held 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 11, at Four Rivers Environmental Education Center in Channahon.

Mark your calendars now with the dates of Forest Preserve District of Will County’s events and programs in the new year.

The new ownership group, led by actor Bill Murray and the Veeck family, has brought new energy and interest in the Joliet Slammers in 2024.

The money comes from the Open Space Land Acquisition and Development grant from the state of Illinois. The splash pad project will be located on the AFC school grounds in Ashton, along Highway 38.

The primary objective is to provide unique recreational amenities for the southwest region of the Plainfield Park District.

Here are the Forest Preserve District of Will County programs for the week of Dec. 2. Online registration is available on the Event Calendar at ReconnectWithNature.org.

The park district so far has completed about 1.55 miles of its planned 2.75-mile multi-use trail that will connect Hoover Park to Sauk Valley Community College.

The 60,000-square-foot Village of Shorewood YMCA is being built in partnership with the village of Shorewood. Local officials gathered for a grounding-breaking ceremony for the facility on Thursday.

Sunday, Dec. 1, through Tuesday, Dec. 31, on designated Will County forest preserve trails, run a virtual 5K. Choose one of 11 designated trails to run your own race in December.

The Greater Joliet Area YMCA will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Village of Shorewood YMCA on Thursday, Nov. 21. The new facility is expected to be open in spring 2026.

Mt. Morris officials hope to have Zickuhr Park renovations started — and completed — next year. In January, the village of Mt. Morris received a $152,600 OSLAD grant to redevelop Zickuhr Park; the total cost of the project is $305,200.

Take in fall colors at Will County forest preserves with special hiking days or family programs celebrating the season.

The Forest Preserve District of Will County’s Take It Outside Challenge challenges participants to complete nature-themed missions to earn points and win prizes. Two Take It Outside Meetups are scheduled for Oct. 23 and Nov. 17.

A new trail connection wraps along and under the 135th Street bridge in Romeoville on the east side of the I&M Canal, and links 14.5 miles of continuous pathway, allowing travel from Lemont to Joliet.

If you're looking for a getaway within a few hours' drive, check out this list of beautiful locations in Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois.

Nonresidents could soon access beaches in Lake in the Hills, for a fee, as the village looks for new revenue sources to cover potential additional staffing.

The Nature Foundation held its first board meeting in 2014 as the Friends of the Forest Preserve District of Will County. Since then, the nonprofit has raised funds to make education programs, infrastructure improvements possible.

The council at its meeting Monday night approved appropriating $655,203, or as much as is needed, to match the required funding to complete the proposed bike path.

Hidden Lakes Trout Farm in Bolingbrook will be hosting a Trout Season Celebration beginning at 6 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19.

The village of Shorewood says X-Golf, an indoor golf simulator experience, will open “very soon” at 1004 Brook Forest Ave.