Burnham Prairie
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
144 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Burnham
13% of Burnham’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 13% of Burnham’s land is conserved, about 154 acres. 14 acres are parks and preserves, 3.5 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns · #272 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
154 acres · of 1.9 sq mi of land
Trails
0.7 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
14 ac
3.5 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.1 mi
Lakes & rivers
3
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Burnham?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Burnham have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Burnham is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #272 of 768 in Illinois. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Burnham’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land3.5 acres of park per 1,000 residents (14 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13CParks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · IL 88% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 72%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 65%
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Powderhorn Prairie and Marsh Nature Preserve
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
63 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Burnham Park
Managed by Calumet Memorial Park District
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Cottage Park
Managed by Calumet Memorial Park District
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Burnham Prairie144 acres · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsPowderhorn Prairie and Marsh Nature Preserve63 acres · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsBurnham Park3 acres · Calumet Memorial Park District
Cottage Park1 acres · Calumet Memorial Park District
Blackburn Park1 acres · Calumet Memorial Park District
Lawhead Park1 acres · Calumet Memorial Park District
DirectionsWho protects it
154 conserved acres
13% of Burnham’s land. Who manages Burnham’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation140 ac
State natural resources79 ac
Regional agency4 ac
Town or city3 ac
Conservation Easement · 140 acState Recreation Area · 79 acLocal Park · 7 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 67 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burnhum Prairie Acquisition State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 79 | Open |
| Blackburn Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Burnham Park Local Park | Regional agency | 2 | Open |
| Cottage Park Local Park | Regional agency | 1 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Burnham
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Burnham
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Burnham
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.1 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Burnham: 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 | 47 | 59 | 70 | 80 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 63 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 2.7 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Burnham →
Next door
Burnham 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burnham | 13% | 0.4 | 4 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Thornton Township | 7% | 0.5 | 8 | 98% | B+ |
| Chicago | 8% | 1.1 | 4 | 99% | A− |
| Calumet City | 8% | 0.5 | 7 | 96% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Burnham
How much of Burnham is conserved land?
13% 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 Burnham’s trails?
Burnham Prairie and Powderhorn Prairie and Marsh Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Burnham?
1.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.1 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Burnham?
9,142 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Burnham or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 14 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Burnham have?
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #272 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 Burnham 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 →