Lake Arlington, Sunset Meadows parks now closed in Arlington Heights

The Arlington Heights Park District on Thursday fully closed its popular Sunset Meadows and Lake Arlington parks in an effort to flatten the curve of the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said.

"This is not a decision the district took lightly, as seeing people enjoy our parks and facilities is our passion," district officials said in a news release announcing the closures. "However, we are all in this together. The sooner everyone does their part to get through this pandemic, the sooner we can all get back to the things we love and enjoy."

While all park district playgrounds, basketball courts, tennis courts and hard play surfaces remain closed until at least April 30, all other neighborhood parks and open spaces remain open for walking, hiking, biking and running - as long as park users comply with social distancing requirements, officials said.

The district also announced it will forgo the printing of its summer 2020 program guide, which was scheduled to be delivered to homes April 18.

Summer programming is now scheduled to begin June 1, and a digital program guide will be available for viewing online in May, with registration to begin May 19.