Online Staff Report

The Rockford Park District invites the community to hear about the development plans and provide design ideas for Alpine Hills Adventure Park & Golf Center, 4402 Larson Ave., Rockford.

A public input meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m., Monday, Feb. 4, at the Webbs Norman Center Board Room, 401 S. Main St., Rockford.

Members of the Rockford Park District design team will be at the meeting along with Ryan Neptune, owner of Planet Snow Designs, a leading innovator and builder of terrain parks, rails, Olympic super pipes and resort facilities.

In spring 2011, the Hansberger family donated the 52-acre facility to the Rockford Park District Foundation. The district envisions turning the facility into a year-round family adventure park with summer activities such as golf, and winter activities that could include a toboggan chute.

Examples of year-round activities include the following:

• Fishing and hiking;

• School field trips, weekend clinics and monthly special events;

• Scout programming opportunities; course offerings would be designed to meet badge requirements for both boy and girl scouts, with after-school programs to an overnight featuring winter survival skills, tent camping, fire building and more; and

• Creative family-friendly fee structures.

Examples of summer activities include the following:

• Five-hole golf course, practice putting/chipping greens, and driving range providing “family golf” opportunities to grow interest and new golfers in a centralized location. The Park District will contract with The First Tee to be the on-site operator.

Examples of winter activities include the following:

• Cross-country skiing;

• Multiple tubing runs with separate areas for tobogganing and snowboarding;

• Winter education program offered by the Park District’s Environmental Recreation and Education Department. This location would allow the Park District to serve grade levels not currently targeted, without limiting access to residential programming. The existing clubhouse would be utilized as classroom space, and the existing parking lot has ample space for buses.

• Weekend school-age programming, along with family and adult programming. Activities could include snowshoeing clinics, snowboarding, tracking, urban winter survival and more. The district will be looking at selecting a vendor to operate the winter activities.

• Monthly special events; these events would happen outdoors, and take full advantage of the winter season. Examples include professional snowboarders, ice sculpting, snowman building contests.

Posted Feb. 1, 2013