Milwaukee’s Premier Playground Opens For The Season
But check the schedule before you go. Northwestern Mutual Community Park is closed or requires paid admission during festivals.
Northwestern Mutual Community Park. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
Northwestern Mutual Community Park, located within Henry Maier Festival Park, will greet its first sliders and climbers at 10 a.m. Friday.
The park, which opened in 2021, includes inclusive play equipment targeted at different age levels, a special toddler play area, covered seating and an air-conditioned structure with restrooms, nursing mother rooms and sensory rooms. The park is located near the Mid Gate entry point to the festival grounds, at 200 N. Harbor Dr., and can be accessed through the gate or the lakefront pathway.
The opening comes more than two months earlier than last year’s May opening. And at least for the next two months, visitors won’t have to worry about festivals interfering with its availability.
It is scheduled to be open from 10 a.m. until dusk every day through the end of April. But that comes with the important caveat that the staffed park will close when the temperature falls below 32 degrees or, possibly, in the event of rain or snow.
Additionally, owner Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. says that water fountains and restrooms will be closed for the time being.
As is standard practice for the park, guests are encouraged to visit the Summerfest website to confirm its availability. That need becomes particularly acute as festivals return in June. The massive playground is closed for public access during festivals and when festival setup or tear down is scheduled to occur. Last June, it was scheduled to be open to the public for only four days due to the heavy festival calendar. A full calendar has not been released for 2024. The park is open during many of the festivals, but you’ll need to pay to get in.
The park can be accessed via the Mid Gate entrance, a short walk from the Historic Third Ward, at the eastern end of E. Chicago Street. Free parking, on non-festival days, is available in a surface parking lot (Lot G) at the southwest corner of the intersection of E. Chicago Street and N. Lincoln Memorial Drive. The park is also easily accessible via the lakefront trail network.
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