Calumet Woods
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
82 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Joshua P. Young House · Photo: Burnhamandroot · Public domainC+Outdoors
Outdoors in Blue Island
99% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Blue Island
52 acres are parks and preserves, 2.4 per 1,000 residents. 2% of Blue Island’s land is conserved, about 40 acres. 0.6 miles of mapped trail cross Blue Island, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 41% of U.S. towns · #581 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
40 acres · of 4.1 sq mi of land
Trails
0.6 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
52 ac
2.4 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.8 mi
0.8 mi lanes · 1.5 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Blue Island?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Blue Island have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Blue Island is ahead of 41% of U.S. towns, #581 of 768 in Illinois. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Blue Island’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land2.4 acres of park per 1,000 residents (52 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 41%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 24%
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Louis S. Viverito Park
Managed by Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
10 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Memorial Park
Managed by Blue Island Park District
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Centennial Park
Managed by Blue Island Park District
6 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 7 parks & preserves
Louis S. Viverito Park10 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
DirectionsCentennial Park6 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Blue Island Park District
DirectionsCalumet Woods82 acres · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsMemorial Park10 acres · Blue Island Park District
Hart Park4 acres · Blue Island Park Distrct
DirectionsSchrei Field2 acres
DirectionsLombardo "York" Park2 acres
Who protects it
40 conserved acres
2% of Blue Island’s land. Who manages Blue Island’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency31 ac
Town or city7 ac
Local Park · 30 acLocal Resource Management Area · 8 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Memorial Park Local Park | Regional agency | 10 | Open |
| Louis S. Viverito Sidestream Elevated Pool Aeration Station Local Resource Management Area | Regional agency | 8 | Open |
| Blue Island Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Centennial Park Local Park | Regional agency | 6 | Open |
| Hart Park Local Park | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
| Louis D Lombardo Junior Play Lot Local Park | Regional agency | 1 | Open |
| Bark Park Local Park | Regional agency | 1 | Open |
| Kiddie Corral Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Stans Park Local Park | Regional agency | 1 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Blue Island
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Blue Island
Jungle GymIn Lombardo "York" Park
DirectionsMemorial Park PlaygroundIn Memorial Park
DirectionsSwing SetIn Lombardo "York" Park
DirectionsPlus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
3.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.8 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.5 mi
off-road bike paths
1.4 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
8Tennis
6Baseball
1Soccer
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).
Joshua P. Young HouseBuilding · listed 1982
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Blue Island: April and September
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) | 9.5 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 36 | 48 | 60 | 71 | 80 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 63 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.4 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Blue Island →
Next door
Blue Island and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Chicago242 miRiverdale1.4 miCalumet Township1.4 miAlsip1.0 miBlue Island0.6 miCalumet Park0.1 miRobbins0.1 miDixmoor0.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Island | 2% | 0.1 | 2 | 99% | C+ |
| Calumet Park | 1% | 0.1 | 1 | 90% | C |
| Alsip | 4% | 0.2 | 12 | 99% | B |
| Riverdale | 2% | 0.4 | 5 | 98% | B |
| Robbins | under 1% | 0.1 | 2 | 90% | C− |
| Calumet Township | 2% | 0.3 | 3 | 96% | B− |
| Dixmoor | under 1% | 0.1 | under 1 | 92% | C− |
| Chicago | 8% | 1.1 | 4 | 99% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Blue Island
Where can I hike in Blue Island?
The longest trail networks: Louis S. Viverito Park, 0.2 miles; Centennial Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Blue Island is conserved land?
2% 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 Blue Island’s trails?
Calumet Woods and Louis S. Viverito Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Blue Island?
3.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.8 of painted or protected lanes, 1.5 of off-road paths and 1.4 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Blue Island?
11,214 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Blue Island or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 52 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Blue Island have?
Ahead of 41% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #581 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 Blue Island 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 →