Pickleball in Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Eau Claire (69,421 people in the 2020 census) is the seat of Eau Claire County, where the Eau Claire River meets the Chippewa, about 90 miles east of the Twin Cities. Its pickleball centers on one city site: the 12 dedicated courts at McDonough Park, the only pickleball facility in the city's athletic-facility rules. The Chippewa Valley Pickleball Club (CVPC), a volunteer club with more than 650 members, helped pay for them. In winter, play moves indoors to the YMCA of the Chippewa Valley from September to May. For courts closer to La Crosse, see the La Crosse-area guide and the Sparta page.

Locations at a glance

Only McDonough Park has a city page with court rules. Counts for Owen Park and DeLong come from directories and tourism and news pages; the club's own court list names McDonough but neither of the other two.

• Outdoor court
• Indoor court
• Tennis court, or a count from directories only

1. McDonough Park: 12 regulation courts, reservable as two sets of six, not lighted (City of Eau Claire).
2. Owen Park: 4 courts lined on 2 tennis courts, with portable nets; the yellow mark shows the lit tennis courts (directories, Wikipedia).
3. DeLong Middle School: 12 courts listed by Pickleheads and Visit Eau Claire; no school or city page opened gives a count.
4. YMCA Sports Center: 6 indoor courts, September to May (YMCA schedule, CVPC).
5. Eau Claire South YMCA: 3 indoor courts (CVPC, Pickleheads).
6. Eau Claire Downtown YMCA: 2 indoor courts (Pickleheads only). The dashed line separates outdoor from indoor sites.

McDonough Park: the city courts

The courts overlook Dells Pond. They grew in steps, with players paying a large share:

The city's rules, from its Athletic Facilities page and the March 2026 policy document:

• Open use. Free to the public during "normal park hours," first come, first served, unless reserved. The city gives no clock hours.
• Reservations. Courts 1–6 and 7–12 can each be rented as a set. The 2026 fee schedule lists $20 per hour on weekdays and $26 per hour on weekends (2025: $18 and $23). Fees are due when booking unless a group has a use agreement; non-weather cancellations need 72 hours' notice.
• Priority. CVPC gets first priority, with requests due December 1 of the prior year; community reservations follow. The park shelter is reserved separately.
• Paid instruction. Using the courts for a service that charges a fee or takes donations needs a court reservation and City Council approval through the Special Event Application.
• Recreation Office: 915 Menomonie St., 715-839-5032.

The city posts no open-play schedule. CVPC says outdoor open play starts around 7 a.m. seven days a week, that McDonough and the Lake Hallie courts are the busiest, and that most players turn out from about 8 a.m. to noon and again in the late afternoon.

Owen Park and DeLong Middle School

Owen Park (501 1st Ave.) is an 11-acre riverside park next to the UW–Eau Claire campus, with lit tennis courts. Visit Eau Claire puts its 4 pickleball courts at the south end near Water Street and says students often play there. The Global Pickleball Network describes the four as lines on 2 tennis courts, shared first come, first served, with temporary nets from the city moved on and off.

DeLong Middle School (2000 Vine St.) has 12 courts according to Pickleheads, which lists permanent lines and says to bring your own net. Visit Eau Claire says the courts are in excellent condition, with "a limited number of movable nets." No Eau Claire Area School District page opened for this guide mentions the courts or public hours, so check posted signs before playing on school property.

Indoor season: the YMCA

The YMCA of the Chippewa Valley offers open play and leagues at its Sports Center, Downtown and South buildings (and in Chippewa Falls), "September-May." The Sports Center runs pickleball as its own program:

The Sports Center posts a weekly court grid. For October 25–31, 2026 it showed open pickleball on 6 courts from 9 a.m. every day: to 1:30 p.m. Sunday (before the round robin), through the last evening slot (marked 9:00) Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, to 1:30 p.m. Friday and to 6 p.m. Saturday. A 6–9 a.m. early-morning slot "will be confirmed on CVPB Facebook Page." The grids for the weeks before and after differ: some weekday evenings drop to 3 courts beside youth programs.

At the South and Downtown YMCAs, pickleball blocks on the gym schedule reserve the whole gym for pick-up games, free for members or with a day pass ($15 individual, $25 family).

The city's own Fall/Winter 2026–27 Prime Times activity guide lists no city pickleball program; it names CVPC under other organizations.

The club

CVPC dues are $30 a year (January–December). Its site lists leagues, skill clinics, club portable nets and a ball machine, a members' newsletter and a discount on its annual tournament, and says outdoor courts are open to the public at no cost or membership. Membership has grown from about 110 (2016) to 470 (2023), about 500 (January 2024) and more than 650 (club site, 2026).

Nearby: Lake Hallie and Altoona

In neighboring Lake Hallie, Lake Hallie Pickleball at Gower Park has 18 courts. WPR reported in October 2024 that it opened in late July 2024 at a cost of $300,000 from the village and local donors, with 6 courts lit; CVPC maintains it. It co-hosted the Wisconsin PPA Challenger on July 24–27, 2025 with Eau Claire's Northstar Middle School. In Altoona, CVPC lists 6 indoor courts at the A-T Elite/Playmakers Performance Center from October 2 to May 1.

Where the sources disagree

Where the city or the YMCA publishes its own figure, this page uses it.

Before you go: checklist

• McDonough has no lights: plan on daylight, and expect club or rented blocks on one set of six.
• Bring a portable net for Owen Park or DeLong.
• Winter: check the Sports Center's weekly grid, and whether a day rate or season pass suits you.
• Bring outdoor balls outside (see indoor vs outdoor balls) and know the scoring before open play.
• This site cannot take sign-ups; join the club or buy passes through their own pages.

Nearby: La Crosse, WI · Sparta, WI · Holmen and West Salem, WI · Rochester, MN.