This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Suburban Stadiums: Hubbard Woods Park

Hubbard Woods Park was featured in the movie "Home Alone"

Each week in Suburban Stadiums, Winnetka and Wilmette Patch will feature a different local recreational facility, from fitness centers to neighborhood parks. We’ll dive into its history, list what programs it has to offer and provide a calendar of major events hosted at the space.

HUBBARD WOODS PARK

Famous for its role in Home Alone, Hubbard Woods Park has been a staple in the Winnetka Park District’s spaces.

Find out what's happening in Winnetka-Glencoewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Facility and History: Hubbard Woods Park sits in the center of the Hubbard Woods Business District, adjacent to the Hubbard Woods Metra Station. Only 1.38 acres of green, the Hubbard Woods Park is one of Winnetka’s many neighborhood parks.

During the winter months, the center of the park is flooded for ice skating. A shelter houses a fireplace room and skate rental shop and lights

Find out what's happening in Winnetka-Glencoewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Throughout the year, kids climb on the playground and residents can relax on the grass and host potlucks on four different picnic tables.

The Hubbard Woods shelter was re-roofed in 1987 and the park was renovated a couple years later. Aided by monetary donations from Harris Bank, a new gazebo / bandshell was installed along with a new playground. More work was done to the playground in 1999.

“It’s right up town. It’s just a really pretty park with the trees and gazebo,” said Lee Volpe, Superintendent of Recreation for the Winnetka Park District.

A couple years back, the shelter was on the capital list for improvement, but nothing went through because the plan was a bit over budget. Now, the Park District has put it back in their strategic plan where they are looking at everything and trying to get facilities updated. 

According to Volpe, the Park District is figuring out what the best facility for Hubbard Woods Park would be.

Programming: As a neighborhood park, Hubbard Woods doesn’t see a lot of organized summer camps or programs.

“The gazebo holds a lot of band concerts,” Volpe said. “The Winnetka Youth Organization uses it for a lot of their concerts. Harris Bank used to do the summer concert series.”

More festival-type events happen at the park as organizations like to use the park primarily for the gazebo with its sound system.

“A lot of big groups use it, mainly if they’re going to have music because it’s a perfect spot for it,” Volpe said. “The bandshell is great. It’s got the electricity in it and it’s up a little bit so people in the park can see it.”

Volpe also uses the park to train camp counselors for the Park District.

Calendar of Events:

July 15: Movie Night in the Park

July 16: Go Green Winnetka Event

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?