Photo: formulanone from Huntsville, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Braidwood has 24 acres of parks, 4.0 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Old Smokey City Park (1 mi). 2.8 miles of mapped trail cross Braidwood, 0.5 per square mile of land. 60% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 34% of U.S. towns · #615 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
How much outdoors does Braidwood have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Braidwood is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns, #615 of 768 in Illinois. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Old Smokey City Park, with 1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Braidwood Dunes and Savanna Nature Preserve
21 conserved acres
1% of Braidwood’s land. Who manages Braidwood’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Braidwood Park Local Park | Regional agency | 16 | Open |
| Braidwood Dunes and Savanna Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | Regional agency | 3 | Closed |
| Luke H. Goodrich Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
6 places to go in Braidwood
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
7 lakes & rivers
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
The best walking months in Braidwood: 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 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 37 | 49 | 62 | 73 | 82 | 85 | 83 | 77 | 65 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Braidwood →
Braidwood and its neighbors
Braidwood has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braidwood | 1% | 0.5 | 4 | 60% | C |
| Diamond | under 1% | under 0.1 | 2 | 76% | C− |
| Braceville | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Coal City | under 1% | 0.1 | 5 | 80% | C |
| Reed Township | 5% | 0.7 | 11 | 62% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Braidwood
Where can I hike in Braidwood?
The longest trail networks: Old Smokey City Park, 1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Braidwood is conserved land?
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 Braidwood’s trails?
Old Smokey City Park and Braidwood Dunes and Savanna Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Braidwood?
27,236 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Braidwood or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 24 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Braidwood have?
Ahead of 34% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #615 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 Braidwood neighbors.
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 →