Rotary Park
Managed by Village of Cary, IL
208 acres3.5 mi of trail
Brown TrailRed TrailYellow TrailPeninsula
Dogs on leash
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: Cosmo1976 · Public domainA+Outdoors
Outdoors in Cary
17% of Cary’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. 17% of Cary’s land is conserved, about 701 acres. 7.8 miles of mapped trail cross Cary, 1.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns · #7 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
17%
701 acres · of 6.5 sq mi of land
Trails
7.8 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
888 ac
50 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
18 mi
1.8 mi lanes · 16 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Cary?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Cary have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Cary is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #7 of 768 in Illinois. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Cary’s overall grade.
Conserved land17% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land50 acres of park per 1,000 residents (888 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13A−Parks 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 98%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)#7 of 768
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 Rotary Park, with 3.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Fox Bluff
Managed by McHenry County Conservation District
162 acres2.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Hoffman Park
Managed by Cary Park District
181 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Fel-Pro RRR Conservation Area
Managed by McHenry County Conservation District
17 acres0.4 mi of trail
West Loop (0.38mi)
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Fel-Pro RRR Conservation Area - East EntranceWebsite ↗
Kaper Park
Park
17 acres0.3 mi of trail
Timbertown Path
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 22 parks & preserves
Rotary Park208 acres · 3.5 mi of trail · Village of Cary, IL
Fox Bluff162 acres · 2.6 mi of trail · McHenry County Conservation District
DirectionsHoffman Park181 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Cary Park District
DirectionsFel-Pro RRR Conservation Area17 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · McHenry County Conservation District
DirectionsKaper Park17 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsCary-Grove Park82 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsCandlewood Park5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Lions Park100 acres
DirectionsCambria Park10 acres
The Hollows Conservation Area8 acres
Hillside Prairie Park8 acres
Cary Junior High Prairie Nature Preserve7 acres
Greenfields Park6 acres
DirectionsJaycee Park6 acres
DirectionsNew Haven Park5 acres
Cary Oaks Park5 acres
DirectionsSherwood Park4 acres
Cimarron Park2 acres
Hillhurst Park2 acres
Brittany Park2 acres
West Lake Park2 acres
Fox Trails Park2 acres
Who protects it
701 conserved acres
17% of Cary’s land. Who manages Cary’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency448 ac
Town or city218 ac
State conservation29 ac
Private owners8 ac
Local Park · 457 acUnknown · 207 acConservation Easement · 29 acState Conservation Area · 8 acLocal Other or Unknown · 2 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 25 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foxford Hills Golf Club Unknown | Town or city | 191 | Open |
| Hoffman Park Local Park | Regional agency | 181 | Open |
| Lions Park Local Park | Regional agency | 103 | Open |
| Cary-Grove Park Local Park | Regional agency | 80 | Open |
| Kaper Park Local Park | Regional agency | 15 | Open |
| Racket Club Unknown | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Cambria Park Local Park | Regional agency | 9 | Open |
| Hillside Prarie Park Local Park | Regional agency | 8 | Open |
| Cary Junior High Prairie Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | Private owners | 8 | Closed |
| Jaycee Park Local Park | Regional agency | 7 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
34 places to go in Cary
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Cary
TimbertownIn Kaper Park
DirectionsPlus 22 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Cary
2 dog parks without a name on the map.
Fishing spots in Cary
5 fishing spots without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Cary
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in Cary
3 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
6 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.4 miUnpaved · 4.2 mi
Brown Trail2.3 mi
Red Trail0.4 mi
Yellow Trail0.4 mi
West Loop (0.38mi)0.3 mi
Peninsula0.2 mi
Timbertown Path0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
18 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.8 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
16 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
17Tennis
12Baseball
3Basketball
2Soccer
2Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Cary: August 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.2 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 34 | 46 | 58 | 70 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 62 | 47 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 1.8 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 2.4 | 2.1 |
January is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Cary →
Next door
Cary 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cary | 17% | 1.2 | 50 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Lake in the Hills | 13% | 2.2 | 24 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Algonquin | 8% | 0.3 | 23 | 99% | A− |
| Crystal Lake | 10% | 1.0 | 40 | 97% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Cary
Where can I hike in Cary?
The longest trail networks: Rotary Park, 3.5 miles; Fox Bluff, 2.6 miles; Hoffman Park, 0.5 miles; Fel-Pro RRR Conservation Area, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Cary is conserved land?
17% 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 Cary’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Rotary Park (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Cary?
18 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.8 of painted or protected lanes and 16 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Cary?
20,945 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Cary or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 903 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Cary have?
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #7 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 Cary 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 →