The 16 best free attractions in Appleton

Excellent walking trails and boardwalk throughout the wetlands. Accessible to walkers for those with medical conditions/disabilities. A lot of signage to guide visitors throughout the reserve as well as informative signage on the animals and habitats in the reserve. Building has information about the wildlife and live animals to observe (turtles, fish, snakes). There is also a large play area for kids. Benches are available along the nature trails for those who may need to take a rest along the way. Overall excellent place for those of all ages.

We absolutely LOVE spending days here. The trails are easy hikes. The scenery is beautiful. Theres plenty of wildlife to see. But our favorite part is the playground with the sand box, zip line and mud/dirt kitchen! Such a fun spot for kids and parents!

Happened upon this place on a date day, the weather was hot and only meant to take a 1/2 mile walk but ended up taking the longest route trying to find the Eagles Nest haha was beautiful and will be coming back again.

Heckrodt Wetland Reserve is a beautifully maintained and thoughtfully designed place that offers something special for visitors of all ages. I especially appreciated the children’s play area, which encourages curiosity and hands-on learning in a fun, natural setting. The indoor activity center was another highlight, filled with interactive displays and exhibits that showcase local wildlife, habitats, and conservation in an engaging and accessible way. The educational aspect of the reserve really stood out. It’s clear that a lot of care has gone into creating an environment where kids and adults alike can learn more about nature while enjoying it firsthand. The trails are peaceful and easy to navigate, offering plenty of opportunities to observe birds, plants, and wetland life up close. Everything throughout the property appeared to be well taken care of — clean, well-organized, and clearly maintained with pride. Heckrodt Wetland Reserve is a true community treasure, combining education, recreation, and natural beauty in one place. Whether you’re stopping in for an afternoon stroll, bringing children to explore, or looking to learn more about the local ecosystem, it’s a place that consistently leaves a lasting positive impression.

Wonderful and looking forward to visiting again. We spent alot of time at the playground. Everyone was friendly too

Beautiful, peaceful place to walk and take in nature. We saw woodpeckers, ducks and a crane family. Well maintained and so beautiful for taking serene photos. Trails are all groomed or wood planked. Best place in the valley to walk. We usually see deer when we come here too. Nice playground for children and plenty of parking in the large, paved lot. They have a bathroom as well as a pavilion with picnic tables (I believe you can rent it). Highly recommend going here. Free admission as well.

Nice scenery, trails are well kept, deer don't spook too easily (easily get within 10'), playground and educational stuff for the kiddos. Keep in mind this is wetlands so bugs-a-plenty.

i visit this park several times a year. this is my kids' favorite park in Appleton. big park with playground, pond, hill, and flower garden on the south half, and baseball diamonds on the north half. the pond is stocked annually with rainbow trout and they are fun to catch despite their small size, and there are plenty of other small panfish to be caught from the little fishing dock as well. my kids love flying kites on top of the hill in the summer, and sledding in the winter. i give 4 stars because the playground keeps getting torn down and rebuilt, they're all great but each time slightly less fun than the one before, so i wouldnt be surprised if the current one gets replaced in just a couple years again.

Very fun playground for kids and a huge park for adults and a good walk. Perfect park for family gatherings too with bathrooms and table area.

Beautiful place!! Huge and a ton of activities available!!

Wonderful park to enjoy the outdoors. Nice pond to walk by, a pavilion you can rent, plenty of seating areas and a nice playground for the kiddos.

This was a great park. Plenty of fresh air, a ton of room for all, they had separate parks on the sake street that group together so everyone is kind of spread out. It was very pretty out there!

This is probably my favorite park in Appleton and would highly recommend if you’re in the area. Lots of walking space, a few playgrounds, many baseball fields, and quite a bit more.

The park is very large and lots of things for the kids to do. I would recommend it for older children because there's so many climbing things. 5 and older for most of the stuff

The upper area of this park is fairly standard but does have pickleball and a skate park. The hiking trail that leads down to the river and past the rowing club - once you get past the kayak launch and fishing pier, you get to the event center plaza which has a coffee shop shop and dining etc. Found this area to be really interesting especially so close to the park and riverwalk Overall I enjoyed the short hike and if you need a reason to treat yourself the baked goods at the coffee shop looked amazing There is also a shortcut that bypasses the long loop around the rowing club building, which I used on the way back

The Newberry trail that goes through the park is beautiful. It's a good paved trail along the fox River. The park itself has a 9 hole disc golf course, skate park, ball diamond, picnic pavilions, and play equipment for the kids. The bathrooms are open right now and clean. Highly recommend this park. I saw a good amount of people walking the trail this morning and others fishing, and kayaking. Beautiful.

This is got to be one of the best parks in the fox valley.

🦋HUGE📍park 🏞️ with something for everyone!🐦 This 🏵️park runs along a big 〰️bend of the 🦊Fox River. There is a 🌊kayak🚀launch on the southern🧭shoreline. 🥾Hiking/walking🚶‍♀️ trails throughout. 🥏Disc golf⛳course. 🥒Pickleball 🏓courts, skate🛹park and ⚾baseball🧢field. Plenty of fishing🎣spots as well! Enjoy a ♨️barbecue🧺picnic with 🚰water and 🚻restrooms available.🅿️Plenty of parking.

Good place to hangout. Skaters have their own arena, so enjoy. A walk down the road takes you close to the water front. There is a place for kayak launch, where you can walk and have an experience of being in the middle of the river

Love the park, local teenagers cussing like mad around my kids to show off and LOUDLY talking about the Ganja was NOT so cool tho. Not the parks fault but know this is the atmosphere for the sake of small ears.

Beautiful park, lots to do whether your having a picnic, playing Frisbee, taking a walk with family or by yourself there is plenty to keep you busy all day!!

Not my type music. Most people drinking...I've been SOBER 43 YR. Long flight of steps for 75 yr old with Pancreas terminal cancer. Pics are just unveiled murals @ APPLETON P.D. N O T @ Jones's Park

Music is fantastic for the festivals, bathrooms nearby and food and beer options were pretty solid. Cash only though which is a bummer. Didn't like having to pay a $4 charge to get some cash out Made the food just a lil more expensive than they already are.

Great amphitheater in the park which is terrific for city music events. There is a large staircase or several ramps to get down into the park. Updated pavilion and walking areas.

Nice park and concert venue. They probably could use larger restrooms during concert events.

Fun. Check it out. Then, come join us at the Irishfest of the Fox Cities on September 19th and 20th. Bagpipes, kids activities and dancers...what more could you want.... Update: After 4.5 hours of rain last Saturday, the bowl that is the main viewing area for the stage, was drier than expected! Great news for insect control and muddied shoes- good landscape planning and design.

Went to Irish fest! Great food, great music, and the drinks weren’t overpriced! If you ever go to the festivals at Jones park make sure to bring your own chairs! Also, don’t forget to check out the coffee shops and bars depending on what time of day you visit the park. A lot of cool things happen in this area!

Beautiful park and a great place to see a concert!

I go here several times every summer. My last visit was to get some Kirby cucumbers for picking. Wound up getting far more than I set out to get, but they looked great, and I made 16 jars. The best time to go, I think, is late July into August. The variety of produce is at its peak. You'll find some of the best sweet corn here.

4 blocks of vendors with produce, jewelry, bobbles of all kind & food trucks everywhere. Oh, I forgot to mention the music performers positioned throughout the market. Parking was really easy to find within a block and was very inexpensive. We had a lot of fun here.

Nice/ Friendly vendors and environment. Mobility Cart was a Great Success!! to get around due to distance..even had a possible.."Wanna Race" moment😂😂✌🏽with one of the locals. Good to see that Humanity Still Exists in light of all that's going on!

Like getting fresh products here. Food is always good. It's nice to visit every so often during the summer times.

Massive market with lots of wonderful stalls

Lots of stands with various options- vegetables, fruit, prepared food, floral arrangements, live music, fresh baked bread, crafts. Gets very busy!!

There are so many different types of vendors. Loved the street corn and fresh fruit lemonades

I LOVE Katsuya. It is my go-to sushi restaurant in the Fox valley. I always have the best service, the food never has disappointed, and the atmosphere is so vibey and romantic.

I have been here 3 times, and each experience is different. I would recommend reservations, I have had to wait up to 45 minutes. They do not take reservations for Saturdays, which kinda sucks, so I would recommend going earlier to get a table. Parking is a bit of a nightmare, but there is a paid parking garage next door, out you can try to find parking in the area along the street- it is a busy area however. The food here is great! I get the table with the little grill and you are able to select 3 meats, you are also brought a small cup of veggies and rice. Sometimes it comes together, sometimes not. They do not allow substitutions on the meats, so choose wisely. There are seafood options, along with steaks and chicken. They also bring you 3 different sauces for dipping. The meat comes preseasoned, and it's very good. You can easily spend at least 2 hours here for a meal this way, but they do have a hibachi area, and sushi, which is also very good. I usually get a roll while waiting for the entrees. The rice does get cold, my only gripe. The best thing about this place is the value. It will be costly to dine at the table grilling, but it's 32 bucks for good portions of 3 different meat options, which can include filet mignon- plus rice and veg. I feel like I'm getting my money's worth for the food plus the pleasure of my dining company and ambience. Highly recommend you check it out!

In town for a great UMCVB conference!Decided to head over next door and enjoy some late dinner. It was amazing. The shrimp tempura was so delicate. The dipping sauce was the perfect accompaniment. Filet and hanger steak was out of this world and so tender. Rice perfectly cooked and the sushi was a marriage of flavors and textures. The service was top knotch! He was attentive without being over bearing and knowledgeable about the entire menu. Many thanks from Discover Ames!

Had such a great experience; wonderful place for a date night. Loved the grill in the middle of our table and the fun cocktails!

Our server was extra attentive but not overly so. Tried the new pork belly buns and was surprised by how great they were. The attention to detail including the scented hand towels push this restaurant over the top in the affordable section.

Been here several times. The inside is nice. The hibachi is almost always amazing. The chefs are amazing. And I typically have great-good service on the hibachi bside. I've only had to wait a long time once and it was because they were down a chef. But when we were served, the chef was hilarious and made up for it. But the sushi side...won't go again. Tried it 3 times. Me and my husband got sick each time, even when we ordered different sushi rolls. The service is poor each time. Staff very unfriendly. The give you one menu for the whole table to share, don't check in on you, if you have questions regarding the menu, the staff are standoffish to answer. Its just not a welcoming environment on that side. Definitely will not do the sushi side again.

Been going here since 2017. Its been a hot sec due to busy schedule but they changed the menu and the yaki niku set which was $36 for three types of meats you can choose from with veggies and rice. They changed it to a sampler set for $32 where you get multiple different type of meats, no veggies. As someone who came here constantly for special occasions, this set was not worth it. You get like 2 pieces of each. I miss the old set as I already knew which specific meats I want. The individual purchases is $9-11 dollars with only 5-6 pieces of meats each which provides way less meat than the previous set. Definitely feel like I paid more for less and was not worth the price. At least the previous set had me full.

🌿 A serene nature preserve offering a mix of paved, rocky, grassy, and dirt trails. It’s well-maintained, quiet, and perfect for a peaceful stroll or light hike. The area features large parking lots, including an EV charging station. Trails vary in length to suit different preferences, and the dense woodland provides plenty of cool shade along the way.

I had the honor of being an officiant and day of coordinator for a wedding at Bubolz Nature Preserve in early September. Although it was windy the ceremony space was beautiful dreamy! Inside was perfect for cocktail hour, dinner, and dancing. The staff were excellent from communication prior to the big day and throughout with their POC and bartenders for me to work with. This location and the offerings they provide are highly recommended!

Would recommend this place to anyone looking for a family friendly place to go hiking and/or a good place to celebrate your special events in life at their beautiful building called “The Lodge”. Not to mention they also host the cutest events throughout the year ! ❤️

As a Live Wedding/Event painter and Fine Artist, it was an absolute pleasure to paint a majestic wedding ceremony scene at Bubolz Nature preserve. Charming space for guests to enjoy the stunning views of the grounds even from the patio. Wonderful staff, totally made the experience amazing.

A lovely place to visit. They have nature trails. I liked seeing all of the animals upstairs and downstairs. They ha e free wifi that doesn't require a password. We attended a wedding there. The reception area was nice size for a small wedding with 60-80 guests. The caterer was able to use the kitchen. They even have a large area to hang coats.

Beautiful place with plenty of walking trails. It can get muddy and slippery, though, so bring good shoes.

9/17/25 - Parking was atrocious and non-existent. The bridge is breaking and the water is gross. 2/10 Probably would be nicer certain times of year. Update Per Response on 10/16/25: - Correction it was a dock not a bridge, I apologize for the mistake. However the dock cracked and almost broke underneath where I was walking twice. The water was completely covered in algae and smelled horrible when you got past the tall growth. which the algae is shown in a photo. I will make sure in the future I take better photos of how "atrocious" places are. ALSO to add to this review. There is NO WHERE to park. We parked at a factory to which we then walked over, even though there is signage to show you were the place is. I dropped this review down to a 1 star because of the response that I got not taking my review seriously and trying to deny the information I posted.

🍁Autumn bliss! The most gorgeous display of maple trees I’ve ever seen. ( every color from gold to raspberry) Walk the trails. Take pictures… spend time with family …have a picnic. Ahh! This is a great place!

Have only experienced the disc golf course which is pretty sweet. Looks like a nice play ground as well as a beach with inflatable obstacle course.

Went disc golfing at the park. It's definitely a 18 hole. Online it says 9 hole. Was not unhappy with the mistake. Good course well maintained. Did not use the water park but it looks like a lot of fun.

They have a lake there or swimming hole I didn't know that I was there for a wedding. It was very nice

Plamann is a beautiful park! In winter, there is a big sledding hill and great snowshoe and cross country ski trails. I've also seen many people come here to walk in any season. In the warmer months there is a disc golf course, and a man made lake with a beach and concessions. There are: areas for various sporting activities, playgrounds, a children's farm (seasonal), picnic spots with or without pavilions, and restrooms available in the park. Fantastic place for family photos, as well. Check it out!

Nice county park with beautiful walking trails. Follow the paved paths or venture into the woods on the cross country ski trails. Many amenities and fields. Ample parking. Summer swim lake.

I think this place has better potential. A note to people renting the buildings: especially for weddings!! The grass will not be mowed nor the area weeded. It is very unattractive for photos or convenient for dresses!! This was brought to their attention and was never corrected for the next bride. Any use of shelter areas, double check prior regarding keys as their bathrooms are always locked. Super inconvenient

Lovely park to spend time with the kids. Always clean and full of trees

It's my local park so I visit it often. There are a lot of activities to do and the water slide in the summer brings out the families to let the kiddos have their fun. It's a very nice and relaxed environment.

Nice public pool It looks like you need your own lock for valuables, but they do have lockers. Concessions were okay.

Super fun public pool! Great place for kids, loud music though. It's not quiet. Plenty of chairs too.

💯Amazing park!🏞️ Public 🏊‍♀️pool has slides, diving boards🤿 and a splash zone💦 The park itself is huge with 🎾tennis/pickleball courts, basketball🏀 and even a ping pong🏓 table! Barbecues spread throughtout the park. A pavilion is also available! Giant trees provide shade to relax on those hot summer days. 🅿️ Parking lot available. 🚻Restrooms available. 🚰Drinking water available. Hard to have a bad time hanging out here🤙👍

Great park! We go there almost weekly. Only downfall is personal, and that because my 3 year old has no balance so I generally have to hand hold on some activities. But there are spots in the equipment I cant do that safely.

Nice updated park next to pool, stay away at night as theres illegal activity occuring here including a shooting once. But overall nice park, one of the nicest in Appleton

Attended a nuptial mass here for a family. During the mass, the priest did not follow the rubrics of the mass and made the mass illicit, if not invalid. Gorgeous church at least, but that makes the failure worse.

I've never reviewed a church before. Here goes. Architecturally, very beautiful, especially the high altar. Visually, it's marred by the two large screens above Mary and Joseph, respectively. If you like praise and worship music, especially the kind that sounds like Broadway or Disney, you'll love it. They're super easy to sing, but they still taught us before Mass. The the screens will show the lyrics. Bonus: the screens also told me there was a sale at Menard's. That was before Mass, so no commerce was involved during the actual liturgy. The screens really draw your eyes ( well played, Menard's!) Quite informal. This Mass lasted 75 minutes, and it wasn't because they used Eucharistic Prayer I (they didn't use that prayer). There's a lot of talking and I know the priests politics, because it's not hidden. However, it was valid, and that priest, who obviously has difficulty walking, was there to confect the Eucharist for me. Thank you.

We have been a member of St. MARY'S since 1988. Our church is more beautiful than the other Catholic churches in Appleton. Along with traditional church ambiances, St. Mary has updated to modern niceties of screen monitors in the church for singing hymns and updates of current activities. St. Mary provides streaming of mass to the homebound and provisions for hearing impaired. The paster and deacon, as well as members of the parish, are very friendly. We have volunteered for various groups to help in many church programs over the years. We have made many friends there and have been a part of the beautiful harmony of the Adult and Bell choirs over the years. There are various teen and youth programs as well as Childrens Church on Sundays. Come and visit us and experience all our church spirituality and so much more!

They were allowing people to take the eucharist home with them and not for special circumstances. Pure and utter heresy, I encourage any catholic to not attend this church

This is such a wonderful church— it really feels like home! People are warm and welcoming! The music is always very put together and the homilies always tie into the daily life of an average modern American!

I visited on St. Patrick’s day with friends who are members and enjoyed the service even though I am not Catholic. The church is beautiful and I enjoyed the way the priest interacted with the congregation at the start of the service. While the service ran about 1 1/4 hour, it felt a lot shorter.

Beautiful church, cry room for parents with live tv feed, lots of resources. Highly recommend.

I’ve lived by Pierce Park for over 40 years. It’s a wonderful resource for the Appleton area. It has a great pavilion for music, a well-maintained playground and plenty of walking paths. And a generous amount of free parking

Looking for a place to disc golf while in town from Texas found this place. 10/10 compared to where im from. Excellent place to visit beautiful scenery.

Fun park, zip line is a hit. Could use a toddler-sized area & play equipment but still a lot of fun and one of our 'frequent flyer' playgrounds. Also has a lovely disc golf course!

After many years, I have discovered a part of the park that I did not know existed. Drive down by the Yacht Club and look across the street. There is an unmarked trail going into the woods. It is beautiful! Definitely the road- err, trail - less traveled! At the other end, there are rustic stairs leading up to street level near the corner of S.Mason St and Pine St.

Love the newly redone park! The playground equipment is amazing. Will definitely be a favorite this summer. The zipline is a hit! The unique swings are fun too!

A very nice park with a large playground and disc golf course. Nice spot to take a quick walk or sit for a while.

Pierce Park has so much to offer! It's clean and very well kept. We used to call it the digger park as there were sandy areas and a few fixed mechanical digger toys which the kids could sit on and dig all day. Over the past few years they've revamped the playground area w fresh recycled turf and fun, new updated equipment. One word.. zip line! Host larger events, plan a picnic, have a group or family gathering, listen to live music, take a class, explore the playground, toss a Frisbee or play Frisbee golf, basketball, tennis or other court games! Walk the trails, enjoy the open green spaces or sit in the shade under the park's abundance of beautiful old (and new) trees. It's easy to spend part of your day here.

Nice dog park with plenty of open space to play fetch, wooded areas for exploration, and trails. There is an optional separated area for small dogs. Beware that the parking lot is a bit small, and located nearby to a busy intersection. Can be a mild nuisance during busy traffic times.

Made a T.P. with sticks I found laying around. Nice place to let your dog run free.

We love the dog park! Lots of trails and space to run. We always bring a bucket with fresh water with us as well as our own poop bags, although there are bags availableat the park if we forget. There is a Porta potty outside the fenced in area, but it's not always clean so we avoid using it. Doesn't take away from the dog park itself.

Been here multiple times, never had an issue until recently. Went in today with two other people with our two dogs perfectly fine. Two golden retrievers named Severus and Bubbles kept playing with our husky until they pinned her down multiple times, mainly the dog Severus. We asked the owner multiple times to pull and recall his dog every time but the dog never listen to his commands and his dog started humping our dog who was trying to fight back but is slightly blind and couldn’t fend herself. Asked the owner to leash his dog as we were tired of it and started an argument that this was a dog park and that the dogs were playing, they clearly weren’t as his dog Severus was trying to dominate our husky as she was yelping and clearly being attacked. Owner proceeds to get into one of the people’s face that I was with and threatening us. Not sure if I would want to go back if these are the people we are going to encounter every single time. PS. His dog bubbles was chasing our dog the entire time and did not recall his dog once it was out of sight. If people still want to go, be careful of these golden retrievers Bubbles and Severus.

Such a great dog park. The big dog side has trails that go way in the back. We have small dogs and its perfectly shaded for them and fenced-in perfectly!

Such a nice place compared to other dog parks around the area! It is worth the longer drive for me. Always dogs there to play with my girl! Shaded areas, wooded areas, and a trail. Places to sit and enjoy with your pup!

Good park with a horrible parking lot situation. Wooded area, trail around and open middle area. NO WATER SOURCE, HUGE BUMMER. Also tends to draw people in that have untrained dogs and untrained owners AND is right next to the landfill

The bathrooms or horrific! I realize that is not what most people come here for, but some attention should be given to them. It’s literally nearly impossible to ge into the stall because of poor design size and inward swinging door. In addition there are spider webs everywhere (in places easy to clean with a simple broom) parking in street side is not great, but at least some of the playground is shaded.

My favorite thing about this park is the location. Right on the Fox River, not too crowded. Good swings for kids, plenty of shade, benches overlooking the river, basketball court, and trails make this a really nice park. One down side is no real parking but everything else makes up for it.

Very clean and scenic park on the river, with a wooded trail that seems surreal that it exists in the city.

Sweet serenity in a perfectly manicured setting. The walking trail is like an emerald road through thick woods. There's picnic grounds too. Cross the street and sit alongside the Fox River to complete the experience. I loved it!

This is slightly more fun than Telulah Park because there is a creek to walk in!

Great park for the little ones! Lots of shade for picnics or relaxing.

This is a nice park with a playset, hoops, pavilion and open grassy area. Located across the street from the Fox River. There are bathrooms but they are often locked.

Went to the new library today. Wow talk about an outdated early 2000s ugly office building. More concerned with closing the building then being friendly. 20 minutes before closing one of the employees 'Dave' said to my fiance' & I we are closing we said we know. Then he asked 'and what time do we close' we replied '5 pm' to which he replied 'that means you are checked out and gone by 5pm'. Way to rudely harass patrons during your 'closing duties'. As we were telling the supervisor he walks down and shouts at us 'looks like you still have three minutes'. Probably micro-agressions towards us as he didn't say this to anyone else. Sub par library. Will not be back. Lots of homeless scattered about not getting told to leave. Also, kids eating meals throughout the library ummm gross. Glad the city of Appleton wasted 40 million dollars on this dump with terrible rude employees that harass us. Such ugly furniture in a stale office environment. Don't worry we will relocate to a better more accepting city with a library that doesn't harrass the patrons.

While it has a lot of practical uses and natural light, the decor has sucked all the soul out of the meaning of "library", including the minimalist children's section. Also, parking in the lot costs money, 4 times more than on the street. 1 dollar for an hour instead of 25¢ an hour for street parking. 24 min to a dime on the street and it's 6 minutes in the lot. It's disappointing. Wide selection but it feels like browsing a filing cabinet rather than a library.

40 million dollars in renovations!!!!! Looks nice not great. Parking lot should be easier for customers they shouldn't almost drive into each other. Also check your meters they collect money but don't give time!!

We love our library! It’s a lovely and spacious facility with a calendar chockfull of community events. The children’s section is fantastic, and it’s the perfect place for our family to spend an afternoon.

Once you get over the novelty of having something new in town, the exterior of the building looks like something that may have better represented something like a police station. I'm not against modern architecture or even something with this serious of an aesthetic, but this implementation doesn't really say "library". Maybe courthouse, or social security office. The use of materials like brick or wood being incorporated into the design would have done wonders for the overall appearance of the building. The interior space has some interesting features. It feels roomy which is nice. Some of the furniture and design pieces feel like they were purchased simply to fill the budget as some of them look more expensive than practical. Overall, it's a serviceable library and will likely be adequate enough for the city for many decades to come. Just disappointing in the overall appearance for the amount of money that went into this thing.

I am disappointed with the new library. Sure it’s new and has some pretty aspects, but even that feels uninspiring and felt like the whole library was picked out of a catalogue. There is ZERO coziness vibes to this museum, but clearly that was intentional. The kids area hasnt received much design yet due to just trying to get the library open, so I am hoping with proper signs they could make it feel better but if they do it wrong and boring then 👎🏻 I didn’t have good phone connection down in the kids area which is a NO GO for a mom. Hopefully that can get fixed. **but worst of all is having to pay to park! I get that its in the city, but it such a deterrent. It already is a lack luster experience then add to that having to pay for parking. I am a homeschool mom of 5 boys and would have loved a feel good library to go on a regular basis. But really, I just plan on ordering on the website and running in to get our books… but of course that means I have to have my husband take me so I can run in and not pay to park. Dumb. Such a let down. I preferred the library in the old Best Buy better. If we want a library experience we will have to go to others.

I see a lot of people of upset about the new library writing reviews here and I can totally understand why. Indeed the library feels soulless, corporate, and unwelcoming. I came here on Sunday, looking for somewhere to get out of the house and find somewhere to relax and sink into a good book. Upon my arrival and walkthrough, I really didn't find anywhere that was quiet and cozy to do so. All of the furniture feels temporary in both its comfort and location. I also looked through their adult fiction book collection and it seemed rather bare bones. The building materials and atrium area amplify the noise in the building and decrease the amount of quiet spaces available unless you check out a specific study area. Things I think they could really do to fix this place are as follows: Bring lots of earthy materials indoors, an advanced cafe vending station, create a separate entrance for the kids floor, there is too much noise with kids coming in the main entrance, add lots of sound dampening materials, and lastly bring in decor and artifacts that symbolize the city. I really hope there's still money in the budget, $40m is a lot of money for what we currently got....

Stopped at this trailhead to check out the foot bridge and historical marker on this island. Lots of people out and about on a warm sunny Memorial Day weekend There is more to this trail that extends further in each direction but I was on foot and didn’t go much further than to check out this island leg If I had had a bicycle I would have gone further

Great little trail just off Lawe Street. On the other side of the bridge over the Fox River you can take a trail that leads through the woods up to Lawrence University or back towards the College Avenue bridge.

Really nice trail along the Fox River.

Beautiful trail. Wish I had more time.