Frontier Park
Managed by Arlington Heights Park District
31 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Dennisyerger84 · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Arlington Heights
99% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Arlington Heights
The biggest trail networks: Frontier Park (0.9 mi), Hasbrook Park (0.9 mi), Centennial Park (0.6 mi). 10 miles of mapped trail cross Arlington Heights, 0.6 per square mile of land. 571 acres are parks and preserves, 7.5 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns · #286 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
512 acres · of 16.6 sq mi of land
Trails
10 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
571 ac
7.5 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
20 mi
3.0 mi lanes · 14 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Arlington Heights?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Arlington Heights have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Arlington Heights is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns, #286 of 768 in Illinois. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Arlington Heights’ overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land7.5 acres of park per 1,000 residents (571 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home99% of residents within a half mile of a park · IL 88% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 71%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 63%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. 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 Frontier Park, with 0.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hasbrook Park
Managed by Arlington Heights Park District
14 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Centennial Park
Managed by Arlington Heights Park District
23 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Camelot Park
Managed by Arlington Heights Park District
10 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Lake Arlington Park
Managed by Arlington Heights Park District
92 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Raven Park
Managed by Arlington Heights Park District
9 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Wildwood Park
Managed by Arlington Heights Park District
8 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Arlington Greens Park
Managed by Arlington Heights Park District
4 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 51 parks & preserves
Frontier Park31 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · Arlington Heights Park District
Hasbrook Park14 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · Arlington Heights Park District
DirectionsCentennial Park23 acres · 0.6 mi of trail · Arlington Heights Park District
Camelot Park10 acres · 0.6 mi of trail · Arlington Heights Park District
Lake Arlington Park92 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Arlington Heights Park District
Raven Park9 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Arlington Heights Park District
Wildwood Park8 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Arlington Heights Park District
Arlington Greens Park4 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Arlington Heights Park District
DirectionsRecreation Park19 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Arlington Heights Park District
DirectionsGreen Slopes Park4 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Arlington Heights Park District
DirectionsCreekside Park15 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Arlington Heights Park District
Prairie Park9 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Arlington Heights Park District
DirectionsVolz Park5 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Arlington Heights Park District
DirectionsFlentle Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Arlington Heights Park District
Virginia Terrace Park3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Arlington Heights Park District
North School Park2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Arlington Heights Park District
DirectionsHeritage Park20 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Arlington Heights Park District
DirectionsRand-Berkley Park12 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Arlington Heights Park District
DirectionsCarefree Park11 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Arlington Heights Park District
DirectionsKingsbridge Arboretum7 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Arlington Heights Park District
DirectionsLake Terramere Park4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Arlington Heights Park District
Carriage Walk Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Arlington Heights Park District
Hickory Meadows Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Arlington Heights Park District
DirectionsSunset Ridge Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Arlington Heights Park District
Westgate Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Arlington Heights Park District
Sunset Meadows Park36 acres
DirectionsPioneer Park20 acres · Arlington Heights Park District
DirectionsWillow Park20 acres
Camelot Connector Parkway12 acres · Arlington Heights Park District
Nickol Knoll Park11 acres
DirectionsMethodist Park9 acres · Arlington Heights Park District
Greenbrier Park9 acres · Arlington Heights Park District
DirectionsPatriots Park7 acres · Arlington Heights Park District
DirectionsCarousel Park6 acres · Arlington Heights Park District
Windsor Parkway Park6 acres · Arlington Heights Park District
Cypress Park5 acres · Arlington Heights Park District
DirectionsRidge Park5 acres · Arlington Heights Park District
DirectionsDryden Park4 acres · Arlington Heights Park District
DirectionsHappiness Park3 acres · Arlington Heights Park District
Evergreen Park3 acres · Arlington Heights Park District
Dunton School3 acres · Arlington Heights Park District
DirectionsRand Connector Parkway3 acres · Arlington Heights Park District
DirectionsKlehm Park2 acres · Arlington Heights Park District
Victory Park2 acres · Arlington Heights Park District
Berbecker Park2 acres · Arlington Heights Park District
Cronin Park2 acres · Arlington Heights Park District
DirectionsFalcon Park1 acres · Arlington Heights Park District
DirectionsRose Garden Park1 acres · Arlington Heights Park District
DirectionsShaag Park1 acres · Arlington Heights Park District
Banta Park1 acres · Arlington Heights Park District
Memorial Park1 acres · Arlington Heights Park District
DirectionsWho protects it
512 conserved acres
5% of Arlington Heights’ land. Who manages Arlington Heights’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city464 ac
Regional agency47 ac
Local Park · 461 acUnknown · 43 acLocal Conservation Area · 6 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Arlington Park Local Park | Town or city | 93 | Open |
| Sunset Meadows Park Local Park | Town or city | 41 | Open |
| Hickory Meadows Park Local Park | Town or city | 23 | Open |
| Frontier Park Local Park | Town or city | 23 | Open |
| Creekside Park Local Park | Regional agency | 23 | Open |
| Pioneer Park Local Park | Town or city | 23 | Open |
| Heritage Park Local Park | Town or city | 21 | Open |
| Centennial Park Local Park | Town or city | 21 | Open |
| Willow Park Local Park | Town or city | 21 | Open |
| Recreation Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
71 places to go in Arlington Heights
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Arlington Heights
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Arlington Heights
Arlington Ridge center Playground
Directions69 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Community gardens in Arlington Heights
Frontier Park GardensFee · In Frontier Park · Arlington Heights Park District
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.0 miUnpaved · 0.5 mi
St. Peter Cross-Country Course and Exer-Trail0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
20 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.0 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
14 mi
off-road bike paths
2.7 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
69Tennis
51Baseball
31Basketball
30Soccer
10Football
6Field hockey
3Softball
2Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Arlington Heights
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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.2 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 35 | 46 | 58 | 70 | 80 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 62 | 48 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 1.9 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 2.4 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Arlington Heights →
Next door
Arlington Heights and its neighbors
Arlington Heights has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Wheeling Township19 miArlington Heights10 miPalatine6.8 miWheeling4.0 miBuffalo Grove3.4 miProspect Heights3.1 miMount Prospect3.0 miRolling Meadows2.4 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arlington Heights | 5% | 0.6 | 8 | 99% | B+ |
| Prospect Heights | 5% | 0.7 | 10 | 99%+ | A− |
| Mount Prospect | 8% | 0.3 | 9 | 97% | B+ |
| Rolling Meadows | 4% | 0.4 | 7 | 93% | B |
| Buffalo Grove | 8% | 0.4 | 12 | 99%+ | A− |
| Palatine | 5% | 0.5 | 8 | 99% | B+ |
| Wheeling | 3% | 0.5 | 6 | 95% | B |
| Wheeling Township | 5% | 0.5 | 9 | 98% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Arlington Heights
Where can I hike in Arlington Heights?
The longest trail networks: Frontier Park, 0.9 miles; Hasbrook Park, 0.9 miles; Centennial Park, 0.6 miles; Camelot Park, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Arlington Heights is conserved land?
5% 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 Arlington Heights’ trails?
Frontier Park and Hasbrook Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Arlington Heights?
20 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.0 of painted or protected lanes, 14 of off-road paths and 2.7 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Arlington Heights?
19,084 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Arlington Heights or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 598 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Arlington Heights have?
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #286 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 Arlington Heights 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 →