Pump tracks and futsal: The latest trends popping up in public parks

While pickleball remains the fastest-growing sport, municipalities across northern Illinois are looking to the latest fads of pump tracks, futsal courts, and inclusive playgrounds to add to public park renovations.

Trends come and go, so park districts are often tasked with figuring out what is going to stick in their communities when updating their parks. Crystal Lake Park District Park Planning and Development Manager Amy Olson said she relies on community input through open house meetings and online and phone surveys.

Every five years, a strategic master plan provides guidance on what is and isn’t working while finding out what’s on the community’s wish list, Olson said. Crystal Lake residents are still ecstatic about pickleball and would like to see outdoor fitness areas and an outdoor pool, she said. But putting dreams into fruition is ultimately up to budgets and the board.

“The sky’s the limit with ideas, it’s just a matter of funding it and making sure best place, best location and what is the best fit for our community,” Olson said.

Pump tracks:

A pump track is a circular track designated for wheeled “action sports” such as BMX and dirt biking. It’s designed for “pumping” – generating momentum by up and down body movements – instead of pedaling or pushing.

The tracks have been popping up in parks in Batavia and Sterling while McHenry looks to add one to Knox Park using funds raised by the RISE Up Foundation’s 2025 McHenry Music Festival.

The foundation, created by McHenry Mayor Wayne Jett, aims to add a 15,000-square-foot bike pump track and a 1,000-square-foot beginner track.

One of the first adapters, Sterling, installed a 1.5-acre pump track in Platt Park in 2017 using leftover dredging dirt. The off-road terrain offers beginner, advanced, and jumping sections.

Most recently, Batavia unveiled its renovations to Clark Island Recreation Area in April, which includes a concrete pump track.

Crystal Lake Park District is toying with the idea of adding a pump track to one of its parks, but still figuring out where it would best be located.

But, not all trends find success. The Crystal Lake Parks Initiative Foundation aimed to create a ball hockey rink as the first project for the foundation to take on two years ago. But the idea could be lacking community interest. Other communities like Glenview have a hard time filling programs at their ball hockey court, Olson said.

“It is not as popular as they had hoped,” she said. “There’s no leagues around here for that.”

Increased inclusivity:

Creating playgrounds and park features that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act are becoming a standard for many park upgrades.

McHenry’s RISE Up Foundation helped foot the bill to build an inclusive playground at Veteran’s Memorial Park. The main play structure has ramped access to most of it and has wheelchair access to one of its gliders and spinner structure.

Crystal Lake Park District’s Lakewood Meadows Park is currently being constructed to include an ADA-accessible merry-go-round and chair swings.

Other structures are designed to accommodate all types of play including sensory-sensitive play areas, musical pieces and areas that focus on science, technology, engineering and math.

Yorkville is home to three ADA-friendly parks: Cannonball Ridge and Rotary parks focus on having wheelchair accessible areas while Sleezer Park took a “horizontal play area” approach to increase accessibility so that parents and grandparents can participate in the fun.

Accessibility doesn’t stop at just the playgrounds. Lake in the Hills added a “mobi-mat” to Indian Trail Beach to allow wheelchair access to the water on the sandy shore in July. Earlier this summer, McHenry County’s first wheelchair-accessible kayak launch opened in Cary’s The Hollows Conservation Area.

Futsal:

Futsal is a modified form of soccer that is played on a basketball-sized field that typically is indoors with a smaller ball with less bounce than a regular soccer ball.

Futsal is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world, and playing it on a mini-pitch helps develop motor skills and more accurate and quick passing and receiving, according to the Oregon Park District.

Futsal was an answer to addressing safety concerns at Sterling’s Wallace Park. Before, soccer balls would often get booted out of the fields onto neighboring streets. Sterling announced to install two 74-by-96-foot futsal courts enclosed by fences and a security system in 2023.

“The soccer community is very excited about this,” City Manager Scott Shumard said at a city council meeting when the matter was voted on.

Courts are also being added to Algonquin’s Willoughby Farms Park and Primrose Farm Park in St. Charles.

Algonquin includes the sport by incorporating it into a multi-use court that can also accommodate basketball and badminton.

“This plan represents a shared vision shaped by robust community engagement,” Village President Debby Sosine said in a news release. “From residents to students to local stakeholders, we heard thoughtful feedback that helped guide this exciting transformation.”