The Lil’ – Lillian L. Lutz Recreation Center

Thought I’d spend the day at the pool catching up on some reviews. I’ve been traveling a bit and sat down to share some spots that I visited. Then I thought, Why not review the spot I’m sitting at right now.
This neighborhood pool is open to the community from 3:30 PM until 7 PM during the week. It is walking distance from my house. There is a long history of this property. It used to be a private club called the Elms. When I was a child, families would swim and play tennis and eat cheeseburgers. It was a nice alternative to a full-​blown country club, it was basically a country club without a golf course.
Over the years the property became tired and lost its membership. Then, the JCYS came in and completely rebuilt the property. It is open to the public with a very reasonable membership. My family of four paid less than $ 200 for an entire season. It’s a great pool and an excellent alternative to the crowded park district facilities. You can order food from a local restaurant called Michael’s Red Hots. Anyone from the area knows Michael’s. I have not eaten the food here, we come to swim.
There’s always seating available and decent lounge chairs. There are nice locker rooms, family restrooms, and a few umbrellas for shade.
The pool has a 10 foot deep section, no diving board but a waterslide for the kiddies. The water is usually warm. There is also a child play area with water features, fountains, sprinklers, toys etc. There also some really great staff and lifeguards that keep the whistleblowing to a minimum :-). They even allow and provide kickboards and floating noodles. I’d recommend visiting this pool and see if it’s a good match for your family. We love it!

My plan was to spend the majority of my summer weekends at the pool, but mother nature had other plans this summer. Fortunately, I got to check out the Lil’ for a bday party before they close the pool for the season on August 24^th.
The bday party we attended technically took place on the splash pad, but within minutes many of the kids moved the party to the big pool (my 3 ½ year old daughter included). My 1 ½ yr old son was quite happy running thru the splash pad, which just happens to be one of the best I’ve seen for toddlers. And then of course he realized his big sis was missing and had to join her in the big pool.
The big pool has a shallow end (2 ft) so my daughter could actually swim (or stand) on her own. I personally feel safer with the the zero– depth areas found at deerspring* and hidden creek**, but this pool did allow her to practice her «swimming.» There’s also a water slide that slides right into the 3 foot area that many of the braver toddlers were all about.
I’m bummed it took me until mid August to visit here, but perhaps we’ll get a few more warm days next summer.
*
**