Spring Lake Forest Preserve
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
1,995 acres32.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Photo: Smallbones at en.wikipedia · Public domainAOutdoors
Outdoors in Barrington Hills
Barrington Hills has 61 miles of mapped trails, 2.3 for every square mile of land
1,094 acres are parks and preserves, 282 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Spring Lake Forest Preserve (32.3 mi), Spring Lake Preserve (14.4 mi), Helm Woods Forest Preserve (3.8 mi). 8% of Barrington Hills’ land is conserved, about 1,358 acres.
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns · #134 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
1,358 acres · of 27.0 sq mi of land
Trails
61 mi
2.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,094 ac
282 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
36%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.2 mi
1.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
7
What kind of outdoors town is Barrington Hills?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Barrington Hills have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Barrington Hills is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #134 of 768 in Illinois. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Barrington Hills’ overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails2.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (61 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land282 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,094 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13AParks close to home36% of residents within a half mile of a park · IL 88% · U.S. 72%C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 85%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 83%
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 Spring Lake Forest Preserve, with 32.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Spring Lake Preserve
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
1,135 acres14.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Penny Pond PondWebsite ↗
Helm Woods Forest Preserve
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Kane County
246 acres3.8 mi of trail
Central Loop Trail (0.5mi)
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Helm Woods Forest Preserve trailheadWebsite ↗
Spring Lake Nature Preserve
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
563 acres2.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Crabtree Preserve
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
594 acres1.2 mi of trail
Phantom Prairie Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Grigsby Prairie
Nature preserve
42 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 10 parks & preserves
Spring Lake Forest Preserve1,995 acres · 32.3 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsSpring Lake Preserve1,135 acres · 14.4 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsHelm Woods Forest Preserve246 acres · 3.8 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of Kane County
DirectionsSpring Lake Nature Preserve563 acres · 2.9 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
Crabtree Preserve594 acres · 1.2 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsGrigsby Prairie42 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Countryside Park22 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsKemper Park5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsHorizon Farm418 acres
DirectionsHickory Hill Park6 acres · Dundee Township Park District
DirectionsWho protects it
1,358 conserved acres
8% of Barrington Hills’ land. Who manages Barrington Hills’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation756 ac
Regional agency417 ac
Joint403 ac
Town or city149 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits127 ac
Private owners2 ac
Conservation Easement · 1,235 acUnknown · 517 acLocal Conservation Area · 46 acState Conservation Area · 28 acLocal Park · 25 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 740 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Horizon Farms Unknown | Regional agency | 417 | Open |
| Helm Prairie Unknown | Town or city | 67 | Open |
| Citizens For Conservation Open Space Local Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 46 | Open |
| Hickory Hill Park Local Park | Town or city | 24 | Open |
| Hawley Woods Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 17 | Open |
| Barrington Hills Park District Riding Center Unknown | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Far Field Preserve State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 10 | Closed |
| Smith Preserve State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 8 | Open |
| Mondschine Preserve State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 6 | Closed |
| Pederson Preserve State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 5 | Closed |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
4 places to go in Barrington Hills
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Barrington Hills
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Fishing spots in Barrington Hills
Penny Road PondIn Spring Lake Preserve
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 7 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 4.3 miUnpaved · 47.5 mi
Phantom Prairie Trail1.2 mi
Central Loop Trail (0.5mi)0.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
13Tennis
4Basketball
3Soccer
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Barrington Hills
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) | 30 | 34 | 46 | 59 | 70 | 80 | 84 | 81 | 75 | 62 | 47 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 1.8 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Barrington Hills →
Next door
Barrington Hills and its neighbors
Barrington Hills has the most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Barrington Hills61 miCarpentersville18 miSouth Barrington6.1 miAlgonquin4.3 miBarrington1.8 miInverness1.5 miLake Barrington1.1 miEast Dundee0.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barrington Hills | 8% | 2.3 | 282 | 36% | A |
| Barrington | 10% | 0.4 | 14 | 90% | B+ |
| Carpentersville | 19% | 2.3 | 17 | 99%+ | A+ |
| South Barrington | 3% | 0.8 | 31 | 79% | B+ |
| Algonquin | 8% | 0.3 | 23 | 99% | A− |
| Lake Barrington | 9% | 0.2 | 35 | 67% | B+ |
| Inverness | 5% | 0.2 | 13 | 80% | B |
| East Dundee | 8% | 0.3 | 52 | 97% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Barrington Hills
Where can I hike in Barrington Hills?
The longest trail networks: Spring Lake Forest Preserve, 32.3 miles; Spring Lake Preserve, 14.4 miles; Helm Woods Forest Preserve, 3.8 miles; Spring Lake Nature Preserve, 2.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Barrington Hills is conserved land?
8% 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 Barrington Hills’ trails?
Spring Lake Forest Preserve and Spring Lake Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Barrington Hills?
1.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Barrington Hills?
29,409 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Barrington Hills or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,111 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Barrington Hills have?
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #134 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 Barrington Hills 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 →