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Official website for the City of Aurora, Illinois. Mayor Tom Weisner

Mission Statement

The Department of Parks & Recreation is committed to providing consistent and reliable public service. We will work together to create an environment of quality, safety, community pride, and a positive experience to our citizens and visitors. Our service will exceed the public’s expectation. To our employees we are committed to provide a stable work environment with equal opportunity for learning and personal growth. Creativity and innovations are encouraged for improving effectiveness and facilities. Employees will be treated internally with the same respect and integrity that we treat our citizens and visitors externally.

City of Aurora - Municipal Parks, Golf Courses & Facilities

Managed by the Parks & Recreation Division (630) 256-3730

Fox Valley Golf Club

Fox Valley Golf Club (630) 879-1030 Located on Route 25 in North Aurora, is an 18-hole golf course that plays 5,927 yards. This course has bentgrass greens, bluegrass ryegrass fairways and tees and fully automated irrigation on greens, tees and fairways. Several ponds enhance the aesthetics of the course.

Garfield Park

Garfield Park is located on 28 acres at Church and Sheffer Roads. Amenities include two Little League fields (Dolan & Andrews), horseshoe courts, a roller hockey rink, a playground, a basketball court, tennis courts, a winter ice skating rink with lights and warming house, a picnic pavilion and open grassy recreational areas.

Mastodon Island & West Recreation Area

Mastodon Island & West Recreation Area is located at Phillips Park. The Mastodon Peninsula site features a tusk maze and a mastodon slide. The gazebo, complete with tiered seating, is available to local schools for their educational programs. The site is easily accessible from the pedestrian bridge on the east side of the lake, along Wyeth Drive. The West Recreation Area, located southwest of the lake, features a playground for youngsters, sand volleyball courts, horseshoe pits and a pavilion. On-site parking is available off of Parker Avenue. In addition, you’ll find three fishing piers located around the lake.

McCarty Park

McCarty Park at East New York Street and West Park Place, provides a gazebo, gardens, benches and tree shaded grassy areas.

Phillips Park

Phillips Park, located on over 325 acres, is accessible from Smith Boulevard, Parker Avenue, or Howell Place off of Montgomery Road. Attractions include the Visitors Center & Mastodon Gallery (630) 256-3750, the Sunken Garden, the Phillips Park Zoo (630) 256-3730, the Phillips Park Golf Course (630) 256-3760, the Phillips Park Aquatic Center (630) 851-8686, Mastodon Lake-a twenty-eight acre fishing lake with a 1-mile path, the Mastodon Island exhibits, the waterfall, World War I cannons and numerous veteran related monuments. Among the amenities you’ll find a large state-of-the-art playground, a toddler’s playground, picnic pavilions, sand volleyball courts, tennis courts, horseshoe courts, a jogging/bike path, fishing piers, an ice skating pond, a sledding hill and open recreational areas. Special events and activities are co-sponsored throughout the year with The Friends of Phillips Park.

Phillips Park Family Aquatic Center

Phillips Park Family Aquatic Center is publicly co-owned by the City of Aurora and the Fox Valley Park District. The Fox Valley Park District (630) 897-0516 manages the Phillips Park Aquatic Center (630) 851-8686 and Splash Country (630) 906-7981. Each pool offers pools, water slides, sand volleyball, a picnic area, and concessions.

Phillips Park Golf Course

Phillips Park Golf Course (630) 256-3760 is located off of Hill Avenue. The state-of-the-art golf course re-opened in July of 2001. With this renovation, Phillips Park can now boast modern features like “USGA” Greens, a computerized irrigation system, multiple tees, larger greens, better overall drainage systems, strategically placed bunkers and water hazards, cart paths, a driving range and a new clubhouse, as well as a three hole Junior Course. The new driving range has both “All Weather Teeing Surface” for inclement weather and a massive grass tee for a more realistic feel. Phillips Park Golf Course is now a quality championship caliber golf course. With three sets of tees, the golf course ranges from 4,760 yards to 6,200 yards, providing a wide range of challenge for varying abilities.

Phillips Park Visitors Center & Mastodon Gallery

Phillips Park Visitors Center & Mastodon Gallery showcases the mastodon bones that were unearthed in the park during a 1934 Civil Works Administration Project. The skull being the largest of the artifacts, weighs 188 pounds, and greets visitors at the entrance. The bones, estimated to be between 10,000 to 20,000 years old, include a 92-pound lower jaw, a 6-foot-long tusk, ribs and vertebrae. In addition, you’ll find enlarged photographs and a detailed history time line related to the discovery, as well as displays highlighting the history of Phillips Park, the Sunken Garden and the Phillips Park Zoo. The 3,500-square-foot building, located at 1000 Moses Drive, also offers a full view of the Sunken Garden and includes vending machines and public washrooms. Hours of operation are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, from Labor Day through Memorial Day. During the summer months, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, the facility will remain open until 8 p.m. Admission is free and the facility is handicapped accessible. For more information, contact the City of Aurora’s Parks & Recreation Division at (630) 256-3730.

Phillips Park Zoo

Phillips Park Zoo exhibits include bald eagles, wolves, foxes, otters, elk, goats, pot-bellied pigs, llamas and more. Special events and activities are co-sponsored throughout the year by the Phillips Park Zoociety. The zoo is open daily, year-round and admission is free. Hours of operation are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Labor Day through Memorial Day. During the summer months, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, the zoo is open until 8 p.m. Parking for the Phillips Park Zoo is located on Moses Drive across from the Sunken Garden. For more information call the Zoo Info-Line at (630) 256-3730.

Solfisburg Park

Solfisburg Park, at Ohio Street and Indian Avenue, provides one Little League field (Frett), one Pony League field (Lancaster) and one Legion League field (Bernard) with lighting.

Totland Parks

Totland Parks are at various locations: Claim Street and Beach Street; Anderson and East New York Street; and Best Place and Linda Court. In addition, two new parks opened in the Seventh Ward in 2003: Marie Wilkinson Park at Loucks Street & Galena Boulevard and Bishop William H. Bonner Park at Kane & Loucks streets. Each park provides playground equipment for youngsters, flower gardens and grassy tree shaded areas.

Wilder Park

Wilder Park, on North Lake Street/Route 31, between West Park Place and Vine Street, provides gardens, benches, a Vietnam Memorial, an Aurora Policemen’s Memorial and grassy tree shaded areas in front of the Aurora Police Department.

Pavilion Rentals

Pavilion Rentals Are available at various parks throughout Aurora. To make arrangements for a private pavilion rental (vs. public event) of a park pavilion at Garfield Park or Phillips Park, contact the City of Aurora’s Parks & Recreation Division at (630) 256-3730. To make arrangements for use of other area park pavilions, contact the Fox Valley Park District at (630) 897-0516.

The Fox Valley Park District

The Fox Valley Park District also owns and operates the following facilities.

  • Prisco Center (630) 859-8606 at Illinois Avenue and Lake Street
  • Eola Community Center (630) 851-8990 at 555 South Eola Road
  • Blackberry Farms (630) 892-1550 at 100 South Barnes Road
  • Vaughn Athletic Center (630) 907-9600 at 2121 West Indian Trail

For more information on the Fox Valley Park District or any of its facilities, please visit the Fox Valley Park District website.

County Forest Preserves

The County Forest Preserves can be reached by calling the following numbers.

  • Kane County Forest Preserve at (630) 232-5980
  • DuPage County Forest Preserve at (630) 790-4900
  • Kendall County Forest Preserve at (630) 553-4025
  • Will County Forest Preserve at (815) 727-8700