Free or Cheap Activites in the Far West Suburbs?

We like Centennial Beach in Naperville. Its run by the Naperville Park district and kids under 3 is free. You pay a daily admissions fee and there is a big sand area and a zero depth entry swimming area to swim in. Life guards are on duty as well as plenty of grass and shade with picnic tables to sit at. You can take you own cooler wit food and drink just no alcohol and there is a concession stand as well. The Children's Garden at the Morton Arboretum is also wonderful. Hope this help. L.

There is a little splash park as well as a regular park in Westmont called Ty Park. It is on Ogden Avenue and Cass. If you go on the Westmont Park District web site you can find out more. Have fun tomorrow!!

L.

Here are a few of our favorites:

Red Oak Nature Center in Batavia
http://www.foxvalleyparkdistrict.org/?q=node/6

Peck Farm Park in Geneva
http://www.genevaparks.org/peckfarmpark.html

Sprayground at Moore Park in Geneva; it's north of Route 38 on East Side Drive

Tekakwitha Woods in St. Charles
http://www.kaneforest.com/fp/tekakwitha_woods.asp

Kline Creek Farm in Winfield
http://www.dupageforest.com/EDUCATION/klinecreek.html

Fullersburg Woods Nature Center in Oak Brook
http://www.dupageforest.com/EDUCATION/fullersburg.html

Have fun!

A.

There is a 'splash pad' in Glen Ellyn across from the Dominick's on Roosevelt that is fun for that age group. I think it's something like 3 bucks a kid. A splash pad is a squishy floor with all sorts of sprinklers going on and off. There is also a park, sandbox, zip line and climby things. Hope that helps!

S.

The Dupage Children's Museum is really great for the kids! It's $7 per person & there's million things for the kids to play with & learn! It is in Naperville on Washington Street, just a little past downtown Naperville.

Also, there is a park in Oak Brook called Ty Warner Park...it's right by the Ty Warner building (owner of Beanie Babies). They have a splash pad for the kids & parks, etc.

Also, the Promenade shoppping center in Bolingbrook also has a splash pad for the kids. It's on a much smaller scale, but it's free & my son LOVES it!

Hi ~

I live in Wheaton, and we have Cosely Zoo here. It's free, and is very kid friendly. Just "next door" in Glen Ellyn is Willowbrook Wildlife Haven, where they have a wide variety of "wild" animals they are nursing back to health from varioius traumas. There is also Lake Ellyn in Glen Ellyn, which is a wonderful place to play, sail boats, etc.

You can also try the Morton Arboretum or Dupage Children's Museum. They are both great options...
Have fun!

I just heard of a sprinkler park in Westmont that is $4. It looks like a ton of fun and came highly recommended by a friend with a 4 and 2 yr. old. We will be going on Weds with the children in my daycare.

Good luck and have fun!

The Oaklees Guide lists activities by date. You can find a paper copy at the library usually. Or go to oakleesguide.com. I read them all the time to find out about local activities.

My sister and I just took the two 4 year olds to Pirates Cove in Elk Grove Village. It was a lot of fun for them and it was only $9 per kid and the adults are free. There's a huge pirate ship that the kids can eat lunches on. It was raining when we were there so half of the park was closed but the kids still had a great time and we spent about 3 hours there in the rain!

There is a place in Glen Ellyn (Park Blvd. and Fawell Blvd.) called Willowbrook Wildlife Preserve. It is a wildlife rehabilitation center open to the public (and free!). They have an indoor animal hospital with interactive child-centered activities. They also have an outdoor path where you can view animals that were too injured to be released back into the wild. In the back there is a nature path that takes you by a pond, prarie grasses and other natural habitats for animals. It is a really fun place for young children. Also, the Morton Arboretum in Lisle has a great Children's garden and walking path that is very cool.

Ty Warner Spray Park in Westmont is fun for little kids and great for a hot day (like it's suppose to be tomorrow). It's only $4 a child for non-residents. Exploring new parks is always fun for my 3 year old son, too. And it's FREE!!! :-) Have fun and enjoy your day with your kids!

I don't know what town you live in, but I would check your local library! Most libraries do "summer reading programs". I live in sugar grove and we have a lot of activities out here at our library. they have movies, crafts, etc. there is also going to be a special dog program (a trained dog doing tricks) coming up. all of that is free to library card holders. I would also suggest the carousel ride at the mall. when my kids were little, they always enjoyed going to mall having some type of lunch and a ride!

HI.. On Tuesdays and Thursdays of this month the Naperville park district puts on a children's lunch hour show. It's free and right next to an awesome park. It's off of Jackson Ave just west of Centenial Beach behind the skate park.

There are a couple of towns that have sprinkler parks that are free or very cheap. Super fun for little ones! Glen Ellyn has one, Geneva and Westmont. I have only been to the Geneva one and I know for sure that one is free. It is opperated by the park district so there must be info on-line. Good luck.

In Bolingbrook there is the Pelican harbor water park at the park district, it is reasonably priced and nice hot day activity.

We like Blackberry Farms in Aurora. It's not too expensive and once you pay the admission, you can do everything else inside for no extra charge...pony rides, carousel, wagon ride, train ride. It's really fun and there's a lot to do.

http://www.foxvalleyparkdistrict.org/?q=node/2

Enjoy your day off!

I don't have any answers for you...but am curious about your husband's job. My husband is a pastor in Glen Ellyn. Where do you guys attend? We are looking to plant a church a little further east.