Where Northbrook Plays Pickleball Once the Outdoor Nets Come Down

At Oaklane Park on Berglund Place, the hard court that drew pickleball crowds two summers ago is being turned into a basketball court with snakes and ladders, hopscotch and four-square games. On July 14, 2026, the Northbrook Park District reported that the basketball system was installed and color coating for the court and game markings was in progress. The tennis court stays where it was. The pickleball courts were repurposed.

Oaklane is worth starting with because it explains the rest of this winter. Northbrook pickleball is growing, and the growth is going to sites with room for it: a Park District activity center, a 17.7-acre athletic club and a padel facility now under construction on Shermer Road. If you play, or plan to start, the outdoor season ends this month. Your winter options are now places with booking systems, set time slots and price lists.

What happened at Oaklane

The Park District reopened Oaklane in late 2023 after a full renovation. It added new hard courts, a playground, a shelter, a 0.2-mile trail loop and native plantings. When warm weather came back in 2024, so did crowds, with "significant numbers of people utilizing the pickleball courts," according to the District's project page.

In April 2025 the District concluded that the neighborhood's streets and parking could not handle the extra traffic, congestion and parking demand. It cited potential safety hazards and effects on essential services, and the pickleball nets were not put back up that spring. First, the District tried other fixes. It posted more signs, changed park hours, and looked at leasing nearby lots and expanding parking. It found each one either ineffective or not viable. A community meeting on July 22, 2025 showed park neighbors and residents three concepts for repurposing the courts, and the voting results went to the Park Board that September.

The District's own account boils down to this: a small residential park could not handle the crowds pickleball was drawing.

Mid-October changes how you get on a court

The District runs 22 outdoor tennis/pickleball courts. In a normal year they are open from early April until mid-October, generally sunrise to sunset. Outdoor play is first-come, first-served. When players are waiting, a courtesy-rack rotation sends games to 11 points. Walk-on play is free whenever a court isn't reserved or programmed, and a reservation costs $17 an hour for residents and $22 for nonresidents.

Indoors, the free walk-on option goes away. Every winter choice in town has a gate of some kind: a time slot, a membership, a drop-in fee or a reservation window. Here is how they compare, using each operator's posted rates.

The TPAC drop-in and reservation rates come from the District's TPAC pickleball page. Call 847-291-2993 to confirm them before you show up. The District links live calendars for both TPAC and Greenbriar, but those calendars are the only place exact drop-in times appear, and the District says its schedules can change.

The Park District's winter calendar is already set

If you want structured play over open play, the District's pickleball page, last updated October 10, 2026, lays out the season.

• Friday Night Pickleball Social Club at TPAC: Fridays, 6 to 7:30 p.m., September 4 through December 18, 2026. Open play with a pro on-site, $109 resident and $139 nonresident.
• Beginner clinics: October 26 through December 14, 2026. They cost $185 resident and $235 nonresident at TPAC, or $139 and $175 at Greenbriar Gym.
• Advanced-beginner and intermediate clinics at TPAC: sections running into mid- and late December 2026, with one ending December 20. Fees run from $165/$209 to $185/$235 depending on the section.
• New Year's boot camps at TPAC: December 30, 2026 and January 1, 2027, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., $45 resident and $55 nonresident.

The District's pickleball league uses a lottery that is open to residents only. Its registration page lists the lottery as closed until autumn 2026, so it is worth checking that page now.

The beginner clinics start October 26, about when the outdoor courts wind down. For a new player, that is the cheapest way into the indoor game. Greenbriar's beginner clinic costs less than TPAC's version of the same session.

Private clubs added courts on Techny Road

In 2026, while the Park District was converting the Oaklane courts, a private club with dozens of courts opened on Techny Road.

Life Time North Shore opened June 26, 2026 at 1300 Techny Road. Patch reported that the 114,000-square-foot club covers 17.7 acres and is the company's 16th Chicago-area location. According to Life Time's opening announcement, the club has 28 pickleball courts, 18 indoor and 10 outdoor. That is more indoor courts at one address than the four at TPAC.

Life Time's model differs from the District's in a few ways. All members can join open play, but it requires a reservation through the Life Time app. Private court reservations are included only with a Signature membership. Open play is sorted by level. On a recent schedule, beginner open play started at 9 a.m., intermediate play for DUPR 3.0 to 3.4 at 9:30 a.m., and advanced play for DUPR 4.0 and up at 10:30 a.m. Open-play sessions have a two-hour cancellation window, and missed sessions carry no-show fees. Adult memberships start at $279 a month. Life Time does not list a price for the Signature tier on the membership page.

Slate Pickleball Club is a members-only club in Northbrook with a much lower entry price. Its adult individual plan is $45 a month, a day membership is $15, and courts cost $24 an hour, bookable up to two weeks ahead. Members get unlimited Wide Open Play, level-based open play and leagues. The club is currently taking requests for Bring Your Own Leagues for winter 2026–27.

So for the same winter, Northbrook now has a $6 resident drop-in slot at TPAC, a $15 day pass at Slate and a full athletic-club membership at Life Time.

Shermer Road is next, with padel

The next venue is already permitted. The Village's development tracker, updated October 9, 2026, says sitework is ongoing at 2985 Shermer Road for a padel facility. It describes a high-end sports club with 7 padel courts, 6 pickleball courts, a shop, a café and lounge areas. Plan Commission records name the project Proximo Padel, with Kin Sports LLC as the potential owner and operator.

The tracker gives no opening date. During the 2025 approval process, the applicant estimated 12 to 16 months of construction, according to Village staff materials. That was an estimate, not a commitment. The project's own update page is the place to watch.

When Proximo opens, it will add six more pickleball courts to Northbrook's indoor supply, on a site built for racket sports.

When the nets go back up in April

The District's outdoor courts will reopen in early April, though Oaklane will no longer be on the list. Stonegate Park, 3425 Whirlaway Drive, has six dedicated pickleball courts and is the largest outdoor site. Wood Oaks Green Park, 1150 Sanders Road, has four tennis courts with pickleball lines, and so does Crestwood Park, 1824 Milton Avenue. Stonegate also posts its own court schedule, linked from the District's courts index.

Two more parks are unclear. Williamsburg Square Park, 200 Lee Road, shows two pickleball courts on its own page. Meadowhill Park, 1479 Maple Avenue, appeared in District project materials with four recreational courts on the in-line hockey rink. The District's current courts index lists neither one, and Meadowhill's amenity list no longer mentions pickleball. Call the District at 847-291-2993 before you load the car for either park.

Until April, Northbrook pickleball is played indoors at TPAC, Greenbriar, Life Time and Slate. The nearest dates on the calendar are the Friday social at TPAC this week and the beginner clinics starting October 26.

Ali Lerner has followed changes like Oaklane's across the North Shore and pays attention to how the parks, clubs and courts near a house shape life on a block. If you're thinking about what your Northbrook home is worth, or which part of town fits the way your household spends its time, Alison Lerner can walk you through it. Start with your free North Shore home valuation.