Park & Recreation
The Village of Lake Zurich’s Park and Recreation Department strives to enrich the quality of life for our community through the commitment to maximize the value of our parks and services, environmental stewardship, and provide a diversity of uses and recreational opportunities across the complete age spectrum. The Park and Recreation Department is a municipal department under the jurisdiction of the Village of Lake Zurich. There is no separate tax levied to fund the cost of operations for programs, facilities or parks. The department is comprised of 3 full time staff, 4 part time staff and operates four signature programs with approximately 105 seasonal team members, aquatics, Academy of Performing Arts (APA) dance, Yellow Brick Road (YBR) Preschool/early childhood programs and summer day camp. The Department also works with a variety of affiliates (LZBSA, Ela Soccer, Flames Football, etc.) and independent contractors to utilize our properties appropriately and expand upon desired program offerings to the community.
The Village of Lake Zurich’s Park and Recreation Department facilitates programs and services from the Paulus Park Barn, Chalet, Buffalo Creek Buildings A and B, and works to oversee 247 acres of park property throughout the Village’s 32 parks. Amenities at our park properties include an arboretum, two beaches, 22 playgrounds, ten baseball fields, ten soccer fields, four basketball court locations, six volleyball courts, three tennis court locations, five fishing locations, 12 picnic pavilions, a skate park, sled hill, and miles of biking and hiking trails. The Department works to seek out and obtain grants to assist with park facilities and property updates and renovations such as the Open Space Land Acquisition and Development grant thru the IDNR. Annually the Village of Lake Zurich invests in the playground renovation plan which was created and is managed by the Department. It has been included in the Village of Lake Zurich’s Capital Improvement Fund.
The Department offers both shelter and facility rentals throughout the year. Facilities available to be rented include the Chalet, Paulus Park Barn and Buffalo Creek. We have over 11 different picnic shelters at 9 parks throughout town that are available for reservation for a nominal daily fee (if not reserved, they are used on a first come, first serve basis).
The Department coordinates over 30 events annually that utilize Village parkland and facilities with over 30,000 in overall attendance. The top attended Village operated events in years past included July 4th Independence Day Celebration (8,000), Rock the Block (8,000), Farmers Market (1,000 avg. per week; 15 event days total), Miracle on Main Street (3,000) and annual Egg Hunt (1,000+). Per the Department’s Special Events Program, the Department does work with local organizations to assist with and host external event operations on Village property such as the Lake Zurich Triathlon, Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers 5K, Taste of the Towns, Boy and Girl Scouts Overnight Camping events and Alpine Races. The Department does offer a variety of event sponsorship opportunities that assist in covering operational costs and works closely with the Park and Recreation Advisory Board and the Mayor’s Office to reach out to potential community sponsors.