Grossdale Station · Photo: Teemu08 at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Brookfield
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Ehlert Park (0.6 mi). 1.7 miles of mapped trail cross Brookfield, 0.6 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 66% of U.S. towns · #342 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Brookfield?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Brookfield have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Brookfield is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns, #342 of 768 in Illinois. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull 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 Ehlert Park, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Brookfield Woods Preserve
McCormick Woods Preserve
All 8 parks & preserves
73 conserved acres
4% of Brookfield’s land. Who manages Brookfield’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ehlert Park Local Park | Town or city | 32 | Open |
| Kiwanis Park Local Park | Town or city | 25 | Open |
| Kiwanis South Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Candy Cane Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Creekside Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Madlin Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Maple North Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
86 places to go in Brookfield
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Plus 12 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
69 scenic views are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
4 lakes & rivers
3.1 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.
1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 4 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
The best walking months in Brookfield: April, July 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 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 36 | 47 | 60 | 71 | 81 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 63 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Brookfield →
Brookfield and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brookfield | 4% | 0.6 | 4 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Lyons | 1% | 0.9 | 2 | 95% | B− |
| La Grange Park | 7% | 0.8 | 2 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Riverside | 5% | 0.6 | 11 | 99%+ | A− |
| North Riverside | 14% | 3.3 | 6 | 96% | A |
| Riverside Township | 9% | 1.8 | 9 | 98% | A |
| Lyons Township | 3% | 0.8 | 7 | 98% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Brookfield
Where can I hike in Brookfield?
The longest trail networks: Ehlert Park, 0.6 miles; Brookfield Woods Preserve, 0.1 miles; McCormick Woods Preserve, 0.2 miles; Kiwanis Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Brookfield is conserved land?
4% 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 Brookfield’s trails?
Ehlert Park and Brookfield Woods Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Brookfield?
3.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.5 of painted or protected lanes and 1.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Brookfield?
11,313 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Brookfield or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 78 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Brookfield have?
Ahead of 66% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #342 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 Brookfield 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 →