Cole Memorial Park
Park
52 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Mary's River Covered Bridge · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainBOutdoors
Outdoors in Chester
Chester has 207 acres of parks, 31 for every 1,000 residents
6% of Chester’s land is conserved, about 237 acres. 37% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2.4 miles of mapped trail cross Chester, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns · #391 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
237 acres · of 5.8 sq mi of land
Trails
2.4 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
207 ac
31 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
37%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Chester have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Chester is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns, #391 of 768 in Illinois. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Chester’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land31 acres of park per 1,000 residents (207 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home37% of residents within a half mile of a park · IL 88% · U.S. 72%C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 61%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 49%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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
The longest trail network is Cole Memorial Park, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
237 conserved acres
6% of Chester’s land. Who manages Chester’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city203 ac
Private owners33 ac
Local Recreation Area · 131 acLocal Park · 100 acLocal Other or Unknown · 5 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chester Community Golf Club Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 92 | Open |
| Cole Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 61 | Open |
| Cohen Complex Local Park | Town or city | 39 | Open |
| Chester Country Club Local Recreation Area | Private owners | 33 | Open |
| Gordon Cohen Recreational Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Breezy Hill Flying Field Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Segar Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| City Steps Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Chester
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Chester
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
2 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
6Baseball
2Tennis
1Pickleball
1Multi-sport
1Football
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The walking year in Chester
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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.1 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 41 | 46 | 57 | 68 | 77 | 85 | 88 | 87 | 81 | 69 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 2.7 | 2.7 | 3.8 | 5.1 | 5.2 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 4.0 | 3.0 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 5.2 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Chester →
Questions about parks and trails in Chester
Where can I hike in Chester?
The longest trail networks: Cole Memorial Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Chester is conserved land?
6% 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 Chester’s trails?
Cole Memorial Park and Cohen Fields don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Chester?
7,216 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Chester or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 207 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Chester have?
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #391 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 Chester 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 →