What is the biggest park in Waukesha County?

Minooka Park, at 579 acres, is the largest park in the Waukesha County system.

Does Waukesha have a public pool?

Yes, the Buchner Park Community Pool at 223 Oakland Avenue, which in 2026 opened June 6 to August 23.

Where can you take a dog in Waukesha parks?

Minooka Park has a dog exercise area, and county parks allow dogs on a leash of 6 feet or shorter. Dogs are not allowed at Retzer Nature Center, other than service dogs.

What is at Frame Park?

Frame Park has formal gardens, two playgrounds, an amphitheater, a bike trail, sand volleyball courts and a lighted turf baseball field on 34.5 acres along the Fox River.

Parks in Waukesha WI: Frame Park, Buchner Pool, Minooka

Q: Do you have to pay to enter Minooka Park?

Yes, Minooka needs an annual membership or a daily permit for each vehicle, and the county's fee page lists the daily permit at $7.

City and county parks in Waukesha with hours, the Buchner pool season, pickleball, Minooka's fee and the rules for dogs.

Waukesha's parks split into two systems: city parks such as Frame, Buchner, Banting and Lowell close to downtown, and big Waukesha County parks such as Minooka and Retzer on the edges. This rundown of parks in Waukesha starts with Frame Park on the Fox River, Buchner Park for its summer pool and Minooka Park for space to roam, and covers each with hours, fees and what is actually there. The Park Next Door lists Frame Park as free to enter, while the county charges a daily vehicle fee at some of its parks, so it is worth knowing which is which before you drive out.

Frame Park

Frame Park is the city's riverside park, 34.5 acres along the Fox River at 1200 Frame Park Drive, open from 6 am to 10 pm. The city lists a picnic shelter, two playgrounds, an amphitheater, formal gardens, a bike trail, a recreation center, a lighted turf baseball field and three sand volleyball courts.

Visit Waukesha's 2024 listing adds a historic spring and bike and watersport rentals by High Roller Fun Rentals, so ask locally whether rentals are running before you plan around them. The paved river path at Frame Park is where the Fox River Trail starts.

Frame Park hosts Waukesha's Oktoberfest, which in 2026 ran September 25 and 26 with a firkin tapping and a nightly light show. In January it hosts a glow walk during JanBoree, the city's winter festival.

Buchner Park and the pool

Buchner Park, on Oakland Avenue, has the city's community pool. The Buchner Park Community Pool at 223 Oakland Avenue opened June 6 and closed August 23 in 2026. It has a 50-meter open swim area, a 1-meter diving board, a zero-depth children's pool, a current channel, slides with a 48-inch height minimum, a splash pad, a whirlpool and a snack bar.

Open swim in 2026 ran from 12:30 to 8 pm on weekdays, 11 am to 8 pm on Saturdays and 10 am to 7 pm on Sundays. New cabanas for up to six people cost $69 for residents and $94 for non-residents on weekdays, and $99 and $124 on weekends. The pool may close when the air is 68 degrees or colder and must close when the water is 65 degrees or colder, so check before a cool-day visit.

MyPickleballConnect also lists eight outdoor pickleball courts at Buchner Park.

Banting Park

Banting Park, at 2101 Butler Drive on the east side, is a 9.19-acre neighborhood park with eight lighted pickleball courts. It is open from 6 am to 10 pm.

Banting Park Pickleball Courts

The city lists eight lighted pickleball courts and a lighted tennis court at Banting Park on Butler Drive, along with baseball and softball fields, a shelter and restrooms. The playground is at Banting Elementary next door. Lake Country Family Fun noted in 2025 that the open-play schedule is posted on the fence.

Court times, the indoor clubs and how the free courts compare are laid out with the pickleball courts in Waukesha.

Lowell Park

Lowell Park, at 2201 Michigan Avenue on the west side, is the base for JanBoree, Waukesha's winter festival. In 2026 JanBoree ran January 16 to 25, opening at Lowell Park, with a 350-foot lighted toboggan run that needed reservations, a Frosty 5K and more than 35 mostly free events.

Lowell Pickleball Courts

Lowell Park's pickleball courts are lighted and have free parking. Lake Country Family Fun counted eight courts there in 2025.

Lowell Park sits about 1.6 miles west of the Waukesha County Museum downtown and about 2.6 miles east of Retzer Nature Center.

Minooka Park

Minooka Park is the biggest park in the Waukesha County system, 579 acres at 1927 East Sunset Drive. It is open from sunrise to 10 pm.

The county lists a swimming beach and pond, wooded trails, groomed cross-country ski trails, a sledding hill, archery, bridle trails, fishing and picnic areas. It also has a dog exercise area, and dogs may swim at the regular beach. The county's amenity list for Minooka also includes electric.

Minooka needs an annual membership or a daily permit for each vehicle, and the county's fee page lists the daily permit at $7. Check the county's park pages for current prices before you go.

JanBoree used Minooka for a candlelight hike in January 2026.

Retzer Nature Center

Retzer Nature Center is the county's nature center on Madison Street, about 4 miles west of downtown, and it is free. Unlike Minooka, it needs no annual membership or daily permit.

Retzer Nature Center

At Retzer, the trails run through prairie and woods, with a boardwalk, a butterfly and rain garden and an accessible Discovery Trail. The Horwitz-DeRemer Planetarium on site is run by the School District of Waukesha. Dogs are not allowed, other than service dogs.

Trail hours, the planetarium and winter snowshoeing are covered for Retzer's trails and planetarium on their own.

The Fox River Trail

The Fox River Trail is Waukesha's paved riverside route, and TrailLink describes about 6 miles of asphalt running south from East Moreland Boulevard by Frame Park to the county's Fox River Park. TrailLink puts Fox River Park at 257 acres and notes the trail passes the Fox River Sanctuary at 810 West College Avenue.

It follows the river on foot or by bike, and it links two of the parks on this page. Fox River Park is one of the county parks that charges the daily vehicle fee, so park in town and ride down if you want to skip it.

Dogs in Waukesha parks

Waukesha County's park rules allow dogs on a leash of 6 feet or shorter, with no more than three dogs per handler. Retzer Nature Center is the exception, where only service dogs are allowed.

The Park Next Door says leashed dogs are welcome at Frame Park, and Minooka has a dedicated dog exercise area. Pick up after your dog and keep it out of the playgrounds and the pool area.

Choosing a park

For a short walk by the river near downtown, pick Frame Park. For a swim, Buchner's pool is the summer option, and Minooka's beach is the county one. For a long hike or cross-country skiing, Minooka has the most room, and for prairie, gardens and a planetarium show, go to Retzer. For pickleball under lights, Banting and Lowell both have lighted courts. In January, Minooka's sledding hill and JanBoree's lighted toboggan run give the parks a winter use.

Parks are only part of a weekend here, and the museum, Friday Night Live and the Saturday market sit within half a mile of each other downtown, for a weekend in downtown Waukesha.