The often stressful and frustrating process to register children for Chicago Park District’s popular summer day camps for 2026 begins Monday, with many camps filling up minutes or even seconds after the system opens.
This year, the process may be easier, according to the city.
According to park district superintendent and CEO Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, the registration website has been revamped, with new tools and features meant to help parents and caregivers navigate it better. Other improvements will occur in phases, Ramirez-Rosa said.
Some of the changes for 2026 include a new map-based search, which shows available camps and backup slots nearby. It will also identify camps in “high demand” that are likely to sell out.
“This is phase one of our improvements. We’re going to continue to work to make improvements because we think we owe that to the families that we serve,” Ramirez-Rosa told NBC Chicago last week.
Summer camp through the Chicago Park District — the third largest park district in the country — is one of the most affordable summer programs for families, the city said. It’s also one of the most competitive, with nearly 20,000 children vying for spots at an average cost of $8.34 per day.
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“We would all probably like for there to be an unlimited amount of spots, so everyone can afford a cost-effective summer experience for their child,” Lori Ravis, a Chicago parent said about last year’s enrollment process. “Everything is so expensive right now, so the ability to be able to get into this program is really valuable for all parents.”
Ravis last year was luckily able to secure a spot last year for her 6-year-old son, saying her “heart was racing” during the nerve-wracking process.
“And I remember thinking, ‘Oh my God, I hope to God I get in,’ and I was there right at 9 o’clock.”
Ramirez-Rosa said the park district is looking to add more slots and staffing in the future, with officials working on a “comprehensive evaluation” of its camp program and registration system.
“We are looking at an audit of capacity and where we can safely add additional slots, but we’re also finding too sometimes where we can add additional slots is not where we have the high demands, so it’s a challenge,” he said.
Chicago Park District Summer Camp Registration
Registration for more than 50 park district summer camps opens at 9 a.m. Monday, with dozens of other park district summer camps opening at 9 a.m. Tuesday.
Which camps open for registration Monday?
All parks located west of California Avenue and all virtual programs will open their registration on Monday, while all parks east of California Avenue will open on Tuesday. The Gymnastics Center programming registration opens at noon on Tuesday.
Parents also have the option to register their kids in-person at a later date if spots remain, according to the park district website. Start dates for in-person registration vary by park but most start on April 25 or 27.
How to register
The Chicago Park Districts’ summer camp registration schedule can be found here, with camps listed alphabetically by location and registration time.
“For parks that offer 100% of their spots online, in-person registration will only be available if spots remain,” the park district said.
More information can be found here.
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