Activities
Ice Skating Rink
RINK STATUS
1/30/2023 RINK IS OPEN
The ice rink is located near the intersection of Lake Drive and Locust Street right next to the tennis courts. When ice conditions are good, the Warming House and Rink will be open 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. (The rink is lit in the evening.) A very small supply of children’s hockey skates, in various sizes, are available for use at no charge.
Activities
Olmsted 200
The National Association of Olmsted Parks (NAOP) has been planning and coordinating a series of events and activities nationwide to celebrate Frederick Law Olmsted’s 200th birthday this year. Visit NAOP’s Olmsted 200 website to see what there is to do. Please sign up for Olmsted Insider, a monthly newsletter to keep yourself up-to-date. To see all local activities related to this celebration, click OLMSTED 200.
2021 Annual Report
Many good things – large and small – happened in Lake Park last year. But the best part of all these good things that happened is this: We did this together, as neighbors and friends! Please enjoy the Lake Park Friends 2021 Annual Report. Click here.
Updates
Ravine Road Update
12/7/19 – With an eye on both historic preservation and modern day concerns, and after thoughtful debate and research, the Lake Park Friends Board of Directors unanimously adopted a resolution on Ravine Road. Read the full post here.
1/6/20 – Keep Ravine Road Open to All: In support of this resolution, LPF started an ONLINE PETITION to save the road. Please sign and share the petition: Go to change.org to add your voice by clicking here.
6/30/20 – Milwaukee County Parks held a virtual information session on June 17 regarding progress on the bridge’s design. To watch a video of the meeting, click here.
3/11/21 – The long awaited construction on the bridge will begin in August 2021 and will last until fall 2022.
10/1/21 – Construction has begun.
10/29/2022 – After years of closure and construction, Lake Park Friends, along with County Supervisor Sheldon Wasserman, and Milwaukee County Parks staff, is excited to announce that the historic Ravine Footbridge in Lake Park has reopened to the public. While the road running underneath remains off limits for now, everyone who visits Lake Park will once again be able to cross the bridge, a connector to two important areas of the park.
There will be a big ceremony to celebrate the reopening of the bridge on Tuesday, November 15, at 1:00 p.m. and will include a ribbon cutting, speeches, entertainment, and delicious catering courtesy of our friends at Bartolotta Restaurants.
Our Lake Park Projects
Planting Trees
We have the good fortune of having a fabulous Frederick Law Olmsted historic landmark park in our back yard. Preserving it and enhancing its beauty and usefulness for all our enjoyment requires the work of many people, but most importantly it requires financial support from our community members.
The Park’s Full of Rich History
What do Lake Park and New York’s Central Park have in common?
Frederick Law Olmsted was the leading landscape architect of the second half of the 19th century, and the architect of Lake Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Olmsted is perhaps best known for the design and creation of Central Park in New York and the U.S. Capitol grounds in Washington, D.C.