Betsy Ann Park
Park
8 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Brighton
Brighton has 48 acres of parks, 21 for every 1,000 residents
77% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3% of Brighton’s land is conserved, about 41 acres.
Ahead of 42% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
41 acres · of 1.9 sq mi of land
Trails
0.0 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
48 ac
21 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
77%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Brighton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Brighton is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Brighton’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4DPark land21 acres of park per 1,000 residents (48 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home77% of residents within a half mile of a park · IL 88% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 42%
LessMore
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Brighton. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
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.
Who protects it
41 conserved acres
3% of Brighton’s land. Who manages Brighton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city41 ac
Local Park · 41 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schneider Park Local Park | Town or city | 24 | Open |
| Betsey Ann Park Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Brighton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Brighton
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
3Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Brighton
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) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 43 | 54 | 66 | 75 | 84 | 87 | 86 | 80 | 68 | 53 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 2.2 | 3.2 | 4.6 | 5.0 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 2.6 |
February is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 5.0 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Brighton →
Questions about parks and trails in Brighton
How much of Brighton is conserved land?
3% 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 Brighton’s trails?
Betsy Ann Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Brighton?
2,025 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Brighton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 48 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Brighton have?
Ahead of 42% 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 Brighton 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 →