Veterans Memorial Park
Park
17 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Ron Frazier · CC BY 2.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Bushnell
Bushnell has 34 acres of parks, 13 for every 1,000 residents
89% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2% of Bushnell’s land is conserved, about 31 acres.
Ahead of 38% of U.S. towns · #599 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
31 acres · of 2.1 sq mi of land
Trails
0.0 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
34 ac
13 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
89%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Bushnell?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bushnell have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bushnell is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns, #599 of 768 in Illinois. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bushnell’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4DPark land13 acres of park per 1,000 residents (34 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home89% 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 38%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 22%
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.
East Park
Managed by City of Bushnell
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
West Park
Managed by City of Bushnell
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
31 conserved acres
2% of Bushnell’s land. Who manages Bushnell’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city31 ac
Local Park · 31 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veteran'S Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 26 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Library Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Bushnell
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Bushnell
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
2Tennis
1Football
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 Bushnell
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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 38 | 50 | 63 | 73 | 82 | 85 | 84 | 78 | 65 | 50 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 1.8 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 3.9 | 5.2 | 4.7 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 2.6 | 2.0 |
January is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 5.2 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Bushnell →
Questions about parks and trails in Bushnell
How much of Bushnell 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 Bushnell’s trails?
Veterans Memorial Park and East Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Bushnell?
491 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bushnell or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 34 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Bushnell have?
Ahead of 38% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #599 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 Bushnell 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 →