Parks & Recreation

P a rk s & Re cr e a t i o n

Princeton’s rural setting affords visitors ample opportunity to pursue their favorite outdoor or recreational activity. Whether you are a fitness buff, an outdoorsman, or simply wish to pack up the picnic basket and share a wonderful afternoon outside with the family, our community and the surrounding countryside provide a variety of parks and waterways perfect for any manner of outdoor activity including golf, biking, jogging, hunting, fishing, canoeing, and more. PRINCETON PARK DISTRICT

Our community is blessed with the wonderful Princeton Park District, which, year in and year out, tirelessly maintains over 192 acres of parks, the Bureau County Metro Center, and the public outdoor Alexander Swimming Pool. The Bureau County Metro Center is a 50,000 square-foot recreation center featuring a full-size gymnasium; 25-yard indoor swimming pool with wading pool and observation balcony; racquetball courts; weight room; cardiovascular room, elevated running/walking track above the gym; and locker rooms. A 40’ x 80’ multi-purpose room with adjacent kitchen provides the perfect setting for conventions, expositions, meetings, or wedding receptions. The Park District Staff at the Metro Center strive to provide a continuous schedule of fun and exciting events, leagues and classes keeping our residents and visitors active & entertained all year long. Our green areas include the twelve-acre Alexander Park which hosts a 9-hole disc golf course, six tennis courts, outdoor Alexander pool, horseshoe pits, barbecue & picnic areas, shelter, restrooms, playground and sand volleyball. West Side Ball Park provides 2 baseball diamonds, restrooms, and concession stand and is host to a ball game nearly every evening between May and August. Zearing Park is a sprawling 72-acre park on the southeast corner of Princeton where you can find 3 baseball fields, shelters, picnic and barbecue areas, sand volleyball, horseshoe pits, playground, and concession stand. Zearing Park is also the home of a 3 acre fully stocked pond, walking path, and outdoor soccer complex. Our City County Park is a 65-acre park nestled throughout a natural woodland setting just north of town offering hiking trails, barbecue areas, log cabin shelter, playground, ball field, and restrooms. It is often the location of Boy and Girl Scout Day Camps and our annual Shadows of the Blue and Gray Civil War Reenactment each October.

For more information about our community parks and planned Park District activities, please visit www. princetonparkdistrict.org.

G o lf Co u rs es

CAPTAIN SWIFT BRIDGE

1600 North Epperson Rd. Located one mile west of Princeton. Built in 2006, the bridge derives its strength from its Burr arch design, an idea patented by Theodore Burr of New York in 1804. Made entirely of wood using 1800s concepts, the Captain Swift Covered Bridge is the only two-lane covered bridge in Illinois. It has a 16’-3” vertical clearance, a 28 foot minimum roadway width and a 128’ span over the Big Bureau Creek. CHAPEL HILL GOLF COURSE AND EVENTS CENTER

12927 IL Highway 26 Princeton, IL (815) 879-6531 Chapelhillprinceton.com Chapel Hill Golf Course and Event Center is a public 18 hole golf course and event venue located southeast of Princeton, in north-central Illinois. Tracing its roots to the original Bureau Valley Country Club (BVCC), this once private course is steeped in tradition and history dating back to 1909, where it began as a simple stop along the Inter-Urban rail line between Princeton and Bureau Junction.

WYATON HILLS GOLF COURSE

17879 1500 North Avenue Princeton, IL (815) 872-2641 A beautiful nine-hole course with rolling terrain and elevated greens overlooks a scenic valley. Driving range, Pro-shop, cart rental, full bar and snack bar are available. Designed by Carl Gustason, the Wyaton Hills golf course opened in 1968. Max Halberg manages the course as the Owner/Manager.

RED COVERED BRIDGE

2 mi. North of Princeton, IL off IL 26 on Old Dad Joe Trail

The Red Covered Bridge is a wooden, covered bridge that runs over Big Bureau Creek north of Princeton in Dover Township, Bureau County, Illinois. It was originally built in 1863, at a cost of $3,148.57. The 149-foot (45 m) span is one of five remaining covered bridges in Illinois, and it is still open to traffic, though now covered with CCTV cameras. The bridge was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on April 23, 1975.