Rating the Suburbs 2011: If you want to get active

Avon Lake

Give Mayor Karl Zuber credit. He was the first one down the dual 25-foot-high water slides at the $4.2 million Ellen Trivanovich Aquatic Center. "It added a little bit of excitement to the day," he says of the grand opening last June. If that's not your speed, try the outdoor center's 180-foot-long lazy river, 6-foot-high family slide, 10-lane lap pool or zero-depth entry pool and children's area.

Chardon

Got next? Get in line. About 50 to 60 kids wait daily to play at the two new basketball courts and sand volleyball courts at the Maple Avenue recreational complex, which also has a swimming pool and skate park, says parks and recreation director Joe Rodriguez. "There was never a court where kids could come and play, so this has become a recreational area."

Richfield Village

After Thanksgiving, volunteers will install an outdoor ice rink frame at the corner of Broadview and West Streetsboro roads. Once the fire department fills it with water, Mother Nature will do the rest. "I had this idea that an ice rink would be a wonderful thing in the center of town," says parks and recreation director Ruth Jocek.