City of Rockford Parks and Recreation

Located in the heart of Rockford, this marquee, 7-acre park is flanked with mature hardwood trees including maple, basswood, hackberries, and butternut. Riverside Park borders the Crow River and is considered one of the area’s best stretches of waters for canoeing and fishing. Riverside Park offers the unique opportunity for all ages to enjoy a variety of amenities and events, or simply relaxing and celebrating with family and friends at the Gazebo or the multi-use picnic park shelter and building.

Active Amenities:

• Access to the Crow River from the boat launch and fishing pier area
• Scenic paved walking trail along the Crow River
• Modern and updated playgrounds with endless formations of fun meant to inspire play for ages 2-12
• Horseshoe pits are built to League standards with Kentucky Blue Clay.
• Three backstops for our weeknight little league baseball play
• Sand volleyball courts with adjustable nets.
• Family skating rink, designed for people of all ages with an updated, comfortable warming house. In the spring and summer months, the rink offers a great location for more family activities and recreation.
• Regulation-sized hockey rink, built in 2017 with an updated, comfortable warming house. In the spring and summer months, the rink offers a great location for more family activities and recreation.
• Riverside Park is also home to vast amounts of green space, mature trees, and ample room to relax and enjoy the great outdoors. Riverside Park is also home to several community events that highlight all that makes Rockford special.

River Days is a cherished, annual summer weekend celebration featuring music groups, the annual River Days parade, royal crowing ceremony of our Rockford Youth Ambassadors, live music concerts, and a showcase for many volunteer groups, clubs, and local businesses.

Rocktoberfest sets the fall on fire with this free community concert. Set for the first Saturday in October, this annual event features two stages in a “battle of the bands” format highlighting some of the best Minnesota artists on the local music scene. Proceeds from this event support the Rockford Fire Department and the Rockford Area Historical Society.

Crow River Holiday/Seasonal Celebration features hot chocolate, caroling, horse drawn sleigh rides, and over 100 holiday lit trees adorning the trail system through Riverside Park.

Many local events conclude with a large firework display along the backdrop of Riverside Park, shimmering above the Crow River.

The newest addition to Riverside Park is the Rockford Veterans Memorial. This project was a collaboration between the City of Rockford and the Rockford Lions, and features monuments honoring branches of the military and is connected to the Riverside Park trail system.

The Park Shelter/Building and Gazebo is an approximate 800-square foot venue that can be rented for parties, events, or activities.

Rental Form

Named after Baseball Hall of Famer and former Minnesota Twin, Jim Thome, this 7-acre park is in the Parkwood area neighborhood. The park features a premier Little League field that is home to Rockford Athletic Association Little League baseball. The Park also features a playground for children ages 2-12 and a unique 20 foot by 20 foot rope pyramid standing 12 feet high.

Located in the Autumn Oaks Subdivision on the south side of 55, this park is filled with a mix of Ash, Oak, Elm and Hackberry trees and has picnic areas and playground equipment for ages 2-12. Kettenacker Park is connected by paved trails and features a regulation basketball court.

Featuring a pickup basketball court, Mutterer Park is located at Elm and High Street and is one of the city’s oldest parks. The park has a variety of Spruce, Oak, Hackberry and Maple trees and playground for ages 2-12, basketball half court, picnic area, and open space to play softball are all available.

Located in the Winfield Ponds neighborhood, the park is situated at a high point in Rockford with beautiful and peaceful country views for miles. The Park consists of a variety of mature trees and playground equipment for ages 2-12 along with green space that can be enjoyed by everyone.