Parks and Recreation

Public parks and green spaces in communities offer opportunities for recreation and relaxation, provide a habitat for plants and animals, and help give a community an aesthetic and historical identity. Benton’s park system and recreational areas encompass over thirty acres of land that may be enjoyed by the village’s residents and visitors.

Benton’s park pavilions and shelter houses are available for picnics, activities, and family gatherings. They may be reserved by contacting the Village Office at (608) 759-3721, or completing and dropping off the Village Park and Swift Park Shelter Rental Form.

Park Features:

Swift Park - pickleball courts, football field, playground, concessions (during events), pavilion rental, restrooms

Village Park - Veteran's memorial, playground, stage, pavilion rental, restrooms

BCDC Park - playground, pavilion

To review the Outdoor Recreation Plan that was completed for Benton, click here: Village of Benton CORP.

The Village Park

Located on Highway 11 on the east side of Benton, the Village Park was originally the site of the 1852 St. Clara Academy, founded by the venerable Father Samuel Mazzuchelli. When the academy was moved to Sinsinawa and the remaining mission home destroyed by fire in 1896, the land on which the academy stood was subsequently sold to the village to be used as a park.

The Village Park sits on 7.7 acres of ground and at one time was home to bowery dances, band concerts in the gazebo, and even outdoor movies on Saturday nights. Today the park is not only home to the 1851 Schoolhouse Museum, but it also offers visitors picnic areas, a shelter house, public restrooms, and a tennis and basketball court. Separated from the park proper, but still part of the Village Park, is an open area located to the north, adjacent to Whaley Court. This large area is suitable for field sports such as baseball, football, and soccer.

Music in the Park, every Sunday evening in August , local people bring lawn chairs and a cooler to enjoy a variety of tunes played by local bands on the new bandstand that was possible through local donations of time and money.

Swift Park

Much of the village and school-sponsored recreational activities take place at Benton’s 11-acre Swift Park, located just below the school on Park Avenue. The park is named for Ray Swift—Benton teacher, historian, and town activist.

Swift Park has lighted football, baseball, and softball fields that are used for school activities, summer recreational leagues, and various other recreational uses of community residents. Two lighted tennis and basketball courts offer ample opportunity for tennis matches and pickup games of basketball.

Included in Swift Park are picnic areas, playground equipment, restroom facilities, and two covered pavilions. One of the pavilions is part of a new concession stand that was constructed in the summer of 2006. The Benton Booster Club sold engraved bricks to help fund the project, and those bricks, complete with names and messages, were used to build the front wall of the building. Additional names will be engraved on blank bricks as people continue to purchase them through the years. Those wishing to have names or memorials added may call the Village Office, (608) 759-3721, for contact information.

Across the Coon Branch Creek at the southern end of the park is the Boy Scout Camp. This area includes a cabin and recreation grounds that are accessed by a foot bridge. The cabin was built by the Boy Scouts and is used mainly for scouting-related activities, including scouts who take part in the annual Boy Scout Pilgrimage in Galena, Illinois.

New in 2019: New park equipment and pickleball courts were installed by the Village of Benton and the BCDC.

BCDC Park

The BCDC Park was established in the summer of 2020 in the Roling Oaks Subdivision. The Benton Community Fund provided a $11,300 proactive grant, the Benton Community Development Corporation (BCDC) contributed $5,000, and several community members donated trees, money, and even a water fountain to the new park. In 2021 there will be more exciting additions to the park.

Milton B. Wiseman Memorial Park

This small, green-space park is marked by a memorial plaque as a tribute to local area veterans. The highway-median area, dedicated as the Milton B. Wiseman Memorial Park, is filled with blossoming flowers during the summer and is commonly known to locals simply as “the island.”

Additional Recreation Areas

Benton’s school, located at 41 Alma Street, sits on almost 15 acres of land that provide an area for a number of recreational activities for the children of Benton. A large, hilly area to the east of the school is used for winter sledding and tobogganing, and a grassy area behind the school is used for a variety of games and team sports. Playground equipment and a basketball court provide a place for children to play during the school year and during the summer, as well.