McKinley (William) Park — Attraction in Chicago

I have had McKinley Park bookmarked for sometime after seeing pictures and reading a review of it shared by Yelper (Christine B). I vowed to make it an option once warmer temperatures started to roll in, and because COVID-19 limited my options of trails to run at. Lacing up my run shoes, then heading outside of my door, I did not expect to run at the park until I got inside of my vehicle and all of a sudden considered running in a different area instead of on the west-side of Chicago.

I dedicated my initial run at this park to Ahmaud Arbery, an African American male who was shot and killed while on a run in Brunswick Georgia. The gunmen, father and son followed Ahmaud in their vehicle and shot him, claiming they thought he was a burglar. For me as an African American male myself, it is heartbreaking because Ahmaud was another victim of racial profiling which seems to be never-ending in our society. And if not for the video going viral online, his death would have been concealed.

Now as for the park, not only is there parking surrounding the perimeter, but there is a small parking area near its gymnastics center as well. The park is gorgeous! It is also well-maintained, and there was no uneven or broken surface whatsoever, at least on the path I ran on. There was Chicago Police presence, but even without their presence, I would not have had any worries of my safety even with the history at this park let alone surrounding area.

The park has a unique design in comparison to a park I frequently run at on the west-side known as Humboldt Park. I loved how its soccer field was in the very center which gives off an energetic vibe to coincide with the sense of peace that nature brings. Along with enjoying its inner beauty, there are an ample amount of activities available at this park such as basketball, baseball, softball, football, soccer, tennis, swimming, fishing, and even ice skating.

During my run, the lagoon became my significant landmark to build a route that I will eventually run from time to time when I get the urge to visit the park. Running along it near the bird & butterfly sanctuary, I encountered a cute red-winged blackbird coming very close to me chirping away. The symbolism of seeing a red-winged blackbird means that you need to draw out from inner self that beautiful you. I have to say that encountering the red-winged blackbird was one of the main two highlights of my run along with dedicating it to Ahmaud. It is always such a heartwarming experience encountering wildlife let alone interacting with.

I enjoyed my whole experience at McKinley Park; the park and area was a breath of fresh air: different infrastructure, culture, and of course that sense of Chicago White Sox pride being that it is located on the south-side of Chicago, and Guaranteed Rate Field is only 3 miles away. Now that I have gotten a feel of this side of town, I imagine that I will yearn to be in it once again from time to...

Today is opening day for summer swim! Yay! I thought. Well turns out, it's Nay 👎There is no consideration for seniors. I have been attending McKinley park swimming for most of my life. Today earlier, I attended the 9a.m. swim. I was early about 10 minites. I went around to the field house entrance and asked if i could use the restroom. I got "No" for an answer and the door shut right in my face! It pretty much felt like a slap in the face. So I waited. I used the restroom and started to try and go through the corridor to get to the girl's locker room. I was then told that I could not go through that way. I told the worker that i had already come from the pool side, that it was too much walking for me and that if I could please go in because of my age, being a senior. She had no heart and refused. There was no consideration whatsoever. So I go back around to the pool area. At the end of the swim time, 9:45 the guard says,"The pool is closed". I think "Times Up!" would be better dialog. Anyway, I then head to the showers. That was another dilemma because rust was coming out of the shower head. While I begin to shower, a lifeguard walks in on me and says, "time to go". I said," I am barely starting to shower". Of course they sent the new girl in because the staff was acting like it's their own personal pool. She saw me half naked and apologized. My response was, "What are you people gonna do when the afternoon crowd gets here and there's 100 persons here,Throw them out?" Not good. It's the hottest wkend of the year and the new staff need to be kinder to people instead of acting like we are in their house. Two of the staff members were actually nice. The rest need people skills classes.I called the field house 5 times and there was no answer. I hope to have a better time next time. After all it is a public place and they are there to aid and assist. They need to get that through their heads. So today they get thumbs...

McKinley Park is one of the best in Chicago. The lagoon is beautiful and lively with water fowl and other birds. The paths are many and great for walking or riding your bike. There are many tennis courts, basketball, softball and baseball diamonds, and a giant soccer field with turf. The playground is pretty nice. There is an olympic size swimming pool and a kids water play area open in the summer. The winter is my favorite because the ice rink opens!! I wish the park would open the skate space for rollerskating during the year, but I guess I can't have it all! Most importantly, it's...