Clearwater Park

"Clearwater Park in Bloomington, Illinois, has become one of the most important places in my life. I started going there during a long, quiet depression. For two years, I walked the half-mile loop nearly every day. It wasn’t dramatic or visible from the outside, but those walks helped me come back to life. The park gave me somewhere to go when I didn’t know where else to be. It gave my body a rhythm and my mind a little room. It’s a beautiful, open park. The kind of place where you can hear your own footsteps and still feel the presence of others. There are wide grassy fields, a playground, a walking path that gently curves past ballfields and shaded benches. People play volleyball in the sand, or basketball on the courts that stay busy from late morning until dusk. Some evenings there are softball games, often church teams or community leagues. There’s laughter, cheering, the crack of the bat. It’s low-key but full of life. I’ve come to love the feeling of motion there—small groups coming together, then drifting apart again. It never feels crowded. It feels like something living. My favorite part of the park is a stand of malice trees. They aren’t especially tall or showy, but I notice them every time I pass. There’s something about the way they bend, the way the light moves through their branches. I used to have a malice tree behind my apartment. I loved that tree. It leaned a little, had a strange curve in its trunk, and its leaves always seemed to turn early in the fall. One day it was cut down. It happened quickly. I wasn’t consulted. I just came home and it was gone. Of course I forgive the person who cut it down. It’s just a tree. And maybe it needed to come down. But that doesn’t mean I don’t miss it. It doesn’t mean I don’t still think about the particular shadow it cast in the late afternoon. So now when I walk through Clearwater Park, I stop for a moment when I reach the malice trees. I let myself notice them. I let myself remember. And then I keep walking. What I’ve found over these last couple of years is that places can hold you while you heal. They can keep you company even when you’re not ready to be around people. Clearwater Park did that for me. It made room for my sadness and my recovery. It helped me rebuild my days. And over time, it also helped bring me joy. The rhythm of basketball games. The energy of evening softball. The quiet of morning walks. All of it feels part of the same motion now. It’s a place I return to not just out of habit, but out of love."

"Update, there is a new playground, which was much needed. Very good park. Nicely kept up and lots of activities. Beware, there are two sand volleyball courts. Odds are that your child(ren) will want to play in it. Plan accordingly."

"Nice walking path around the playground with beautiful trees on the sides."

"Plenty of parking it was clean well lit when it got dark plenty of things to keep the kids and I even entertained"

"Review Date: October 22nd, 2014 Clearwater Park should also be called Spacious Park. Clearwater Park is one of many city parks in Bloomington-Normal. The city has literally 7+ parks, if I am seeing this map right. But what sets this one apart from the others? Space. This park is relatively bigger than a standard park. It has basketball courts, a volleyball sand pit area, a playground, a gazebo for parties and openness. I didn’t spend a whole lot of time here, but I enjoyed every second of it. The leaves were changing colors, the weather was just right. It was a nice visit. I just enjoy the openness of this park. If you find yourself in Bloomington, there are quiet a few nice parks to visit. McGraw Park and Holiday Park are two you should definitely check out, if you have kids and they love parks… or if you are a kid at heart like myself."