Chart Our Future City of Lake Forest Parks & Recreation Master Plan | Page 8

Department Profile
The Parks and Recreation Department serves the City of Lake Forest which covers approximately 17 square miles and serves
a population of over 19,000 people. Located in Lake County, the Department maintains about 580 acres of recreation,
special use, and school properties.
The Department properties include a golf course, a historic farm, a beach on
Lake Michigan, and parks providing active and passive recreation located
throughout the City. The Department also owns several facilities for indoor
recreation, education, administration, and support services.
The City of Lake Forest is located on the eastern edge of Lake County, on the
shore of Lake Michigan. The city is adjacent to the communities of Lake Bluff,
Knollwood, Green Oaks, Mettawa, Lincolnshire, Bannockburn, Highland Park,
and Highwood as well as sections of unincorporated Lake County. The City
boundary overlaps the service areas of the Lake County Forest Preserve, Lake
Forest Open Lands, Lake Forest Community High School District 115, Libertyville
Community High School District 128, Lake Forest School District 67, Rondout
School District 72, Lincolnshire-Prairieview School District 103, and North Shore
School District 112.
The Park and Recreation Department works closely with multiple local agencies
through cooperative relationships. Through their partnership with local school
districts, the Department maintains specified playgrounds and a tennis court in
exchange for use of the grounds and indoor program space outside of school
hours. The Parks and Recreation Department also collaborates regularly with
other City of Lake Forest Departments and has a history of private and public
agreements that has resulted in land acquisitions, land swaps, park, and facility
development and renovations, and program and facility operation.
In addition to partnerships, the Department is supported by the Friends of
Lake Forest Parks and Recreation Foundation. This volunteer group is lead by
its own board of directors with the mission to promote the Department and
the City’s natural environment. The Foundation provides a number of services
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to City Residents and the Department by providing participation scholarships,
organizing events, advertising programs and facilities, and fundraising for
significant recreation projects.
The Parks and Recreation Department is predominately funded through city
taxes. User fees, donations, grants, and sales from rentals, concessions, and
merchandise also contribute to Department Funding. The Department has also
received donations of land and cash from individuals and business in the past.
Organizational Structure
The seven-member Parks and Recreation Board serves the City and Department
as an advisory body for development and operation of recreation programs,
playgrounds, and all Department-owned facilities and properties. The Parks
and Recreation Department is divided into three areas, Parks, Forestry, and
Recreation. The Director is responsible for overseeing daily parks and recreation
activity.
Related Plans
Related documents referenced during the master planning process included:
• Comprehensive Park and Facilities Plan for the City of Lake Forest
Department of Parks and Recreation (2008)
• Lake Forest Sustainability Plan (2016)
• Bicycle Master Plan (2013)
• City of Lake Forest Resident Survey Report of Results (2016)
• The City of Lake Forest Zoning Map
• The City of Lake Forest Street Map
CITY OF LAKE FOREST PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT COMPREHENSIVE MASTER PLAN