Oak Park is fortunate to have many parks, 18 to be exact. Some have playground equipment, tennis courts and sandboxes. Other parks are filled with mature trees and winding paths. My family’s favorite is Rehm Park. Located in the south part of Oak Park at 515 Garfield St., corner of East Avenue, south of I-290, it has a swimming pool, two tennis courts, a Gaga Ball pit, sand volleyball courts, and both a toddler’s and children’s playground. There is also a self-propelled train on a track that wasn’t open the day we were there.
Named after Colonel Arthur D. Rehm, the second board president of the Park District of Oak Park, it was acquired in 1913. Did you know that the original park was designed by renowned landscape architect Jens Jensen? But very little of the original design is still there.
When my grown children and their children and I visited Rehm on a recent Saturday, all of us found fun activities to do there. My grandchildren especially loved the merry-go-round and the bumpy metal slide.
Everyone’s “favorite thing” at Rehm Park were the ziplines. All of us, from toddler to grandmother (me), took turns on the ziplines, one with a sturdy plastic swing to sit on (I chose that one) and the other, a round metal seat with a rope to hold onto.
While we were in the neighborhood, we stopped at the Oak Park Conservatory, a botanical garden across the street, at 615 Garfield. They have interesting plants and fruit trees from all over the world, two parrots, and an outdoor children’s play space with a water pump (Information can be found at www.oakparkconservatory.org).
We also stopped at Sticks and Cones, an ice cream shop at 308 Madison St. (www.sticksandcones.com) that opened in 2023. Jennifer Wimmer, the owner, told me her favorite thing about the store is that “We have something for everybody, and some free family entertainment on the side!” In addition to traditional ice cream, they offer Dole soft serve, smoothies, Hawaiian shaved ice and non-dairy flavors. My grandchildren were intrigued with the vintage style Pac-Man video arcade games and a shelf of free board games. We wondered if the store was open in the winter and Jennifer said that business is pretty slow over the winter months, but they host birthday parties, social gatherings, and offer free use of the space in their main dining room to local groups and organizations looking for a fun space to meet.
Joy Aaronson is an Oak Park resident who writes stories for the Wednesday Journal about her favorite things in the village. Previously, she contributed to Chicago Parent and wrote the Kids’ World column for the former Logan Square Free Press.