Athens Community Park
Park
21 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainC+Outdoors
Outdoors in Athens
96% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Athens
0.5 miles of mapped trail cross Athens, 0.3 per square mile of land. 24 acres are parks and preserves, 12 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
0 acres · of 1.7 sq mi of land
Trails
0.5 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
24 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
96%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Athens?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Athens have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Athens is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Athens’ overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%DTrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (24 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home96% 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 44%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C 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 Athens Community Park, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Primm Street Park
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Things to do
2 places to go in Athens
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Athens
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
6Tracks
5Baseball
2Soccer
2Basketball
2Football
1Softball
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Col. Matthew Rogers BuildingBuilding · listed 2005
About itWhen to get out
August is the best month for walking in Athens
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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 35 | 40 | 52 | 65 | 75 | 83 | 86 | 85 | 79 | 67 | 52 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.9 | 2.6 | 4.0 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Athens →
Questions about parks and trails in Athens
Where can I hike in Athens?
The longest trail networks: Athens Community Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Athens is conserved land?
under 1% 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 Athens’ trails?
Athens Community Park and Primm Street Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Athens?
1,956 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Athens or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 24 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Athens have?
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Athens 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 →