Sports and Recreation

     Milwaukee sports fans enthusiastically support their professional teams. Baseball fans make their pilgrimage to Miller Park, where the beloved Brewers play from April through September; phone (414) 902-4000. Almost before the last baseball game's hot dog can be digested, the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks begin basketball exhibition games. Regular season games are played until April at Bradley Center, 1001 N. 4th St.; phone (414) 227-0400 or (414) 227-0500. The Marquette University Golden Eagles also play at Bradley Center; phone (414) 227-0400 or (414) 288-7127.
     The Milwaukee Wave play indoor soccer October through April in the U.S. Cellular Arena; phone (414) 224-9283. At the Bradley Center the Milwaukee Admirals compete with other teams of the American Hockey League October through April; phone (414) 227-0550 or (414) 227-0400.
     Spectators are outdoors again in the spring and the fall to watch fierce rugby matches. National championship automobile races are held at the Milwaukee Mile, (414) 453-8277, from May through September. Sailboat races skirt Lake Michigan's shoreline, off N. Lincoln Memorial Drive, weekends during the summer.
     The lakefront also is the playground of anglers, sailors and swimmers during the warm months. Swimming is possible at five beaches (lifeguards are not on duty): Bradford Beach, 2400 N. Lincoln Memorial Dr.; Doctor's Park Beach, 1870 E. Fox Ln.; Grant Beach, 100 Hawthorne Ave.; McKinley Beach, 1750 N. Lincoln Memorial Dr.; and South Shore Beach, 2900 S. Superior St.
     For those who cannot adjust to Lake Michigan's chilly waters, there are 9 outdoor and 2 indoor pools and more than 20 wading pools throughout the county park system. The county also runs two Family Aquatic Water Parks: Cool Waters Family Aquatic Park in Greenfield Park at 2028 S. 124th; and Pelican Cove Family Water Park in Kosciuszko Park at 2201 S. 7th St.
     Sailors with their own boating craft may use the launch ramps at Bender, Riverfront, McKinley Marina and South Shore Yacht Club for a fee. Fishing in Lake Michigan can reward anglers with prize catches of salmon and trout as big as 30 pounds. Full- and half-day charters are offered by numerous companies; check the telephone directory.
     Tennis is available at 28 county parks; many courts are lighted. Court use is free, though a fee is charged for reserving a court and for lighted courts; phone (414) 257-8030. North Shore Elite Fitness and Racquet Club, (414) 351-2900, at 5750 N. Glen Park Rd., is one of several clubs that offers indoor tennis courts. Lawn bowling is popular during the summer. Sand volleyball courts are found at 17 county parks.
     About two-thirds of the golf courses in the Milwaukee vicinity are 18-hole courses. Brown Deer Golf Course, (414) 352-8080, 7625 N. Range Line Rd., is home to the PGA U.S. Bank Championship and is open to the public. The county also maintains par-three and regulation 18-hole courses and an 18-hole pitch-and-putt course. November through April, the Currie Park Golf Dome, 3535 N. Mayfair Rd., offers an indoor driving range; phone (414) 453-1742.
     The Milwaukee County Park System offers a variety of public facilities among its 136 parks, including beaches, swimming pools, golf courses, tennis courts, soccer fields, hiking trails and the 106-mile Oak Leaf Trail, a paved path for bicycling, inline skating and jogging that encircles the city. The Alpha Trail provides mountain bikers with tricky terrain to negotiate; it begins near Whitnall Park For information about county park facilities phone (414) 257-6100.
     Although Milwaukee's winters are somewhat formidable, the lure of various winter sports entices even the frostbite-prone outdoors. Milwaukee County Parks has seven lagoons that freeze for ice skating. The premier site, however, is Pettit National Ice Center. Wilson Park Center and Slice of Ice at Red Arrow Park also offer skating.
     Most of the county parks allow cross-country skiing, with Whitnall Park providing lightly groomed trails. Old World Wisconsin and Schlitz Audubon Nature Center also provide cross-country ski trails. Favorite weekend destinations for Milwaukee residents include Kettle Moraine State Forest and any of the 60 inland lakes in the metropolitan area.
     Greyhound tracks attract locals as well as visitors and include Dairyland Greyhound Park in Kenosha, (262) 657-8200 or (800) 233-3357, and Geneva Lakes Greyhound Track and Simulcast Center in Delevan, (262) 728-8000 or (800) 477-4552.