Fort Defiance State Park
Managed by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
127 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Magnolia Manor · Photo: MuZemike · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Cairo
Cairo has 17 miles of mapped trails, 2.5 for every square mile of land
98% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 161 acres are parks and preserves, 95 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Fort Defiance State Park (0.9 mi).
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
82 acres · of 7.0 sq mi of land
Trails
17 mi
2.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
161 ac
95 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
6 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Cairo?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Cairo have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Cairo is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Cairo’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%C+Trails2.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (17 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land95 acres of park per 1,000 residents (161 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13AParks close to home98% of residents within a half mile of a park · IL 88% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 90%
LessMore
Water is 23% of Cairo’s area (2 of 9 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 1%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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
The longest trail network is Fort Defiance State Park, with 0.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 5 parks & preserves
Fort Defiance State Park127 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · Illinois Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsSaint Mary's Park15 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsDavid Box Twin Rivers Ball Park5 acres
DirectionsCairo Public Boat Launch1 acres
DirectionsLansden Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
82 conserved acres
2% of Cairo’s land. Water is left out: Cairo has 7.0 square miles of land and 2.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Cairo’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land63 ac
Town or city15 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service6 ac
State natural resources1 ac
State Park · 63 acLocal Park · 15 acNational Wildlife Refuge · 6 acUnknown · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Defiance Park State Park | Other state land | 63 | Open |
| St Marys Park Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 6 | Restricted |
| Miscellaneous Property Unknown | State natural resources | 1 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
13 places to go in Cairo
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Cairo
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Cairo
6 boat launches without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Cairo
Lowest Point in IllinoisIn Fort Defiance State Park
DirectionsPlus 1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Community gardens in Cairo
The Pilot Garden
DirectionsTrails & 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
4Tennis
3Baseball
3Basketball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 6 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The walking year in Cairo
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) | 9.9 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.1 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 44 | 49 | 59 | 70 | 78 | 86 | 89 | 89 | 82 | 71 | 58 | 47 |
| Rain (in) | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.9 | 5.2 | 5.0 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 4.3 |
August is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 5.2 inches fall in April, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Cairo →
Questions about parks and trails in Cairo
Where can I hike in Cairo?
The longest trail networks: Fort Defiance State Park, 0.9 miles; Saint Mary's Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Cairo 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 Cairo’s trails?
Fort Defiance State Park and Saint Mary's Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Cairo?
26,367 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Cairo or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 163 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Cairo have?
Ahead of 90% 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 Cairo 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 →