Gordon F. Moore Community Park
Park
220 acres3.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Illinois2011 · CC BY 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Alton
6% of Alton’s land is conserved: 609 acres
The biggest trail networks: Gordon F. Moore Community Park (3.1 mi), Riverfront Park (0.7 mi), Russel Commons Park (0.7 mi). 8.1 miles of mapped trail cross Alton, 0.5 per square mile of land. 495 acres are parks and preserves, 20 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 66% of U.S. towns · #348 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
609 acres · of 15.7 sq mi of land
Trails
8.1 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
495 ac
20 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
59%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.8 mi
2.2 mi lanes · 4.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
4
1 beach · 3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Alton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Alton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Alton is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns, #348 of 768 in Illinois. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Alton’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land20 acres of park per 1,000 residents (495 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13BParks close to home59% of residents within a half mile of a park · IL 88% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 66%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 55%
Water is 8% of Alton’s area (1 of 17 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 6%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B to B+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Gordon F. Moore Community Park, with 3.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Riverfront Park
Managed by City of Alton
29 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Russel Commons Park
Managed by City of Alton
21 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Olin Park
Park
4 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 17 parks & preserves
Gordon F. Moore Community Park220 acres · 3.1 mi of trail
DirectionsRiverfront Park29 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · City of Alton
DirectionsRussel Commons Park21 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · City of Alton
DirectionsOlin Park4 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
James Killion Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsDoorman Square Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsRock Springs Park69 acres
DirectionsNorth Soccer Fields35 acres
DirectionsHenry Street Park11 acres · City of Alton
DirectionsPiasa Park10 acres
DirectionsHaskell Park7 acres
Barth Park4 acres
DirectionsNorthside Park4 acres
DirectionsRiverview Park4 acres
Milton Park3 acres
Hellrung Park3 acres
DirectionsLincoln Douglas Square1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
609 conserved acres
6% of Alton’s land. Water is left out: Alton has 15.7 square miles of land and 1.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Alton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city406 ac
Private owners134 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits72 ac
Other state land1 ac
Local Park · 343 acPrivate Park · 129 acConservation Easement · 72 acLocal Recreation Area · 67 acState Recreation Area · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 69 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gordon F Moore Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 191 | Open |
| Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 68 | Open |
| Rock Springs Park Local Park | Town or city | 63 | Open |
| Alton Municipal Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 61 | Open |
| City Of Alton Sports Fields Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 56 | Open |
| Riverfront Park Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Wood River Township Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Russell Commons Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Henry Street Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
31 places to go in Alton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Alton
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Public pools in Alton
Splash PadIn Riverfront Park
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Alton
17 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Alton
Alton Dog ParkIn Russel Commons Park
DirectionsBoat launches in Alton
Alton Riverfront
DirectionsGordon More LakeIn Gordon F. Moore Community Park
DirectionsNGRRE
DirectionsWaterfalls in Alton
1 waterfall without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Alton
4 scenic views without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Alton
3 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
5 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.8 mi
Mark Hall Trail0.4 mi
Prairie Edge Trail0.4 mi
Memorial Wood Trail0.1 mi
North Trail0.1 mi
South Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
6.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.2 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
4.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
18Soccer
12Baseball
12Tennis
7Basketball
7Pickleball
1Skate park
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →13 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 15 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Guertler HouseBuilding · listed 1974
About itHaskell PlayhouseBuilding · listed 1974
About itUpper Alton Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1978
About itChristian Hill Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1978
About itPost HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itMount LookoutBuilding · listed 1980
About itAlton Chapter HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itYakel House and Union BreweryDistrict · listed 1982
About itMiddletown Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1982
About itHotel StratfordBuilding · listed 2000
About itAlton National CemeterySite · listed 2011
About it1 more on the History page.
When to get out
The walking year in Alton
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 44 | 55 | 67 | 76 | 85 | 88 | 87 | 80 | 68 | 54 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 2.2 | 3.3 | 4.6 | 5.0 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 2.6 |
February is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 5.0 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Alton →
Next door
Alton and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
West Alton34 miGodfrey13 miAlton8.1 miAlton Township8.1 miWood River Township6.3 miFoster Township4.0 miEast Alton1.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alton | 6% | 0.5 | 20 | 59% | B+ |
| Alton Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Wood River Township | 3% | 0.3 | 19 | 86% | B |
| Godfrey | 9% | 0.4 | 22 | 26% | B |
| East Alton | 2% | 0.2 | 10 | 82% | C+ |
| Foster Township | under 1% | 0.1 | under 1 | 2% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Alton
Where can I hike in Alton?
The longest trail networks: Gordon F. Moore Community Park, 3.1 miles; Riverfront Park, 0.7 miles; Russel Commons Park, 0.7 miles; Olin Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Alton is conserved land?
6% of its land, against a typical 4% for an Illinois town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Alton’s trails?
Gordon F. Moore Community Park and Riverfront Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Alton?
6.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.2 of painted or protected lanes and 4.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Alton?
10,053 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Alton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 495 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Alton have?
Ahead of 66% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #348 of 768 in Illinois. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Alton neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →