Bender Park Friends

06/14/2026

We are absolutely blown away! Since Bender Park Friends formed in Spring of 2025, our small but mighty group of incredible volunteers have officially logged over 825 hours of service in support of Bender Park!

* 425 hours of collaborative meetings, administrative work and social media
* 320 hours of pulling w**ds, trimming trails & picking up trash
* 40 hours of beach and sand clean up
* 25 hours of advocacy efforts.

The mission of Bender Park Friends is to preserve, improve and celebrate Oak Creek’s Bender Park via community-led stewardship, advocacy & collaboration. We couldn’t achieve our mission without the dedication, heart, and hard work of our community.

To every single person who showed up, rolled up their sleeves, and gave their time: THANK YOU. 💙 You are the heartbeat of this organization.

Want to join this amazing crew? Learn more about volunteering with us here: Https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSecB2pVk5VAanIWAW9_yIRBQfyKxt-A079oGHYjbSpEplykxg/viewform

06/10/2026

🌞 As summer arrives, Bender Park is busier than ever—and that's great to see!

Thank you to everyone who has shared concerns about trash, parking, and other issues in the park. We recently brought these concerns to Milwaukee County Parks, and we're grateful for their quick response and commitment to helping keep Bender Park clean, safe, and welcoming for everyone.

Milwaukee County Parks has committed to:
🗑️ Adding more trash cans, emptied daily
🚮 Providing more staff during busy periods
👮 Increasing ranger presence during peak-use times

A few friendly reminders:
✔️ Please clean up after yourself (and lend a hand if you see litter)
✔️ Park only in designated spaces—extra long parking stalls are reserved for vehicles with trailers
✔️ Fires are allowed in grills only and are not permitted on the beach, grass, sidewalks, or parking lot

Bender Park belongs to all of us. Thanks for doing your part to keep it beautiful and enjoyable for everyone! 💙🌊🌳

If you see a non-emergency issue in any Milwaukee County park, you can report it through the https://issues.county.milwaukee.gov/

Want to help make a difference? Join Bender Park Friends! We'd love to have you involved. Send an email to [email protected] or see the Events tab on our page.🌿

06/08/2026

Our Wednesday, June 3, 2026 Bender Park Friends monthly meeting was a work day event. Our crew of nine volunteers with a combined 19 hours of effort tackled sand removal (trust us, there was a lot of it!), trash pick up, and w**d removal along sidewalks and benches, making the area more welcoming for everyone. The transformation was impressive because of those efforts. Several people visiting the park asked about our group, our work and thanked us for making a difference. Our next meeting on July 1 will also be a work day. Details to follow.

05/30/2026

Our next Bender Park Friends meeting is Wednesday, June 3 and we will be enjoying an evening of outdoor projects. Come anytime after 5:00 p.m .and lend a hand as we give the parking lot area a little extra care. Meet at the lower parking lot. EVERYONE IS WELCOME!!! Priorities include:

* Pulling w**ds along sidewalks, benches, and the paved trail around the parking lot and up the Oak Leaf Trail hill
* Freshening up the large planters near the beach
* Shoveling sand where needed
* Picking up litter to help the area look its best

Bring work gloves and any favorite hand tools that make w**ding easier. To keep things simple, we'll place pulled w**ds on nearby grassy areas where they can be mulched during routine mowing.

No need to stay the whole time—come when you can and stay as long as you'd like. Every helping hand makes a difference, and it's a great opportunity to meet other park supporters while making a visible impact.

See you at the park!

05/29/2026

Update on completed and ongoing projects in Bender Park.

Bender Boat Launch Sediment Abatement (Dredging) – The boat launch has re-opened to the public! Bender boat launch re-opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Tuesday, May 19. Concurrently, Bender Park Road and the entrance to the park was also re-opened on May 19. Please note that active construction projects will be present at the park for several more months as additional improvements continue, including final placement and restoration of the dredged materials at the upper gravel lot, grading and paving work along the Oak Leaf Trail and adjacent roadway infrastructure. Milwaukee County Parks urges all visitors and boaters to drive slowly, follow posted signage, and use caution while traveling through the area.

Bender Park Oak Leaf Trail Extension –The north section of the new Oak Leaf Trail between Bender Park entrance and the roadway has been paved, and adjacent vegetation restoration has been initiated. This newly paved section re-opened the trail and path connection from Bender Park entrance to the beach, boat launch, and lower parking lot. Continued trail grading and hauling activities with periodic paving south of Bender Park Road will continue over the next few months. Traffic control is established as necessary adjacent to Bender Park Road and at Fitzsimmons and Oakwood Roads.

Bender Park Roadway & Stormwater Management – This project is anticipated to be bid in late June, with construction anticipated in late Summer/Fall 2026.
Bender Park Friends

05/25/2026

Please be aware of signs at the beach noting water safety. ALWAYS be aware of rip tides in the area. Stay safe! The testing done by the OC Health Dept. relates to water quality, NOT wind / wave / riptide conditions.

Beach testing season is underway!

From Memorial Day to Labor Day we monitor the water quality of Bender Beach. Samples of the water are used to determine when to close a beach due to unsafe conditions. There are signs at the beach indicating if the water is safe (green sign), under an advisory when the water may be unsafe (yellow sign), or closed when the water is unsafe for swimming (red sign). ⛱

Visit go.ocwi.org/DNRBeach to check all Wisconsin beaches.

05/25/2026

Spring cleaning? Bender Park Friends needs landscaping tools like wheelbarrows, shovels, rakes, brooms, 5-gallon buckets etc. New or used! Contact us at [email protected] to donate!

Keep an eye out for announcements of work days in the park!

05/22/2026

Bender Park Friends member Tim Sullivan captured the construction of the Oak Leaf Trail through Bender Park with his drone recently. Heavy equipment is putting in proper drainage and grading so both the paved trail and to-be-restored natural environment around it is sustainable for generations to come. Thanks, Tim, for this footage.

Paving is now completed on the north section of the Oak Leaf Trail through Bender Park! Refer to the map below marked with red X’s. Barricades have been removed in this area, so there is access from Lake Vista Park to the path down to the beach and newly opened boat launch.

Please note that other the middle and southern areas of the Oak Leaf trail through the park are still under construction. Please be careful and stay away from heavy equipment and crews in the park. Obey all trail closed signs for your safety and that of the construction crew.

Click on this link for details on this Milwaukee County Parks Project.
https://www.mkecountyparks.org/benderpark-olt

Here is additional information about trail safety on the Oak Leaf Trail https://county.milwaukee.gov/EN/Parks/Explore/Trails/Oak-Leaf-Trail

The roadway and drainage replacement project is expected to begin later this Summer and early Fall. Click on this link for details. https://www.mkecountyparks.org/bender-park-roadway-and-drainage-replacement

05/20/2026

Bender Park Road, Launch and Beach are now open! There is still ongoing construction in the area, so use caution and follow posted signs. Road repairs are scheduled for later this Summer and early Fall.

Yesterday, members of the Oak Creek Fire Department were in their wet suits doing training at the beach area. Thanks for being ready for anything that might happen!

New signs at the beach alert beach goers to the rip currents in the area. Stay safe!

05/19/2026

Bender Park Boat Launch Ribbon Cutting Ceremony. May 19, 2026