Joe Orr Woods
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
86 acres0.8 mi of trail
Thorn Creek Black Unpaved Spur
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Dennisyerger84 · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Chicago Heights
97% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Chicago Heights
The biggest trail networks: Joe Orr Woods (0.8 mi), Halsted Woods (0.5 mi), Woodrow Wilson Woods (0.5 mi). 210 acres are parks and preserves, 7.9 per 1,000 residents. 2.7 miles of mapped trail cross Chicago Heights, 0.3 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns · #441 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
207 acres · of 10.4 sq mi of land
Trails
2.7 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
210 ac
7.9 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
97%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.6 mi
4.6 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Chicago Heights?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Chicago Heights have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Chicago Heights is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns, #441 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 Chicago Heights’ overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land7.9 acres of park per 1,000 residents (210 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home97% 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 57%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 43%
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
The longest trail network is Joe Orr Woods, with 0.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Halsted Woods
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
60 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Hap Bruno Field
Woodrow Wilson Woods
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
31 acres0.5 mi of trail
Thorn Creek Yellow Unpaved Spur
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Indian Hill Woods
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
65 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 16 parks & preserves
Joe Orr Woods86 acres · 0.8 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsHalsted Woods60 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsWoodrow Wilson Woods31 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsIndian Hill Woods65 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
Commissioners Park14 acres · Chicago Heights Park District
Beacon Hill Park6 acres · Chicago Heights Park District
Smith Memorial Park5 acres · Chicago Heights Park District
Alex Lopez Park4 acres · Chicago Heights Park District
DirectionsSeiter Park4 acres · Chicago Heights Park District
Euclid Park4 acres · Chicago Heights Park District
Wacker Park4 acres · Chicago Heights Park District
King Park3 acres · Chicago Heights Park District
Jirtle Park2 acres · Chicago Heights Park District
Jones Center Family Play Lot1 acres · Jones Memorial Community Center
Petrarca Park1 acres · Chicago Heights Park District
Meidell Park1 acres · Chicago Heights Park District
Who protects it
207 conserved acres
3% of Chicago Heights’ land. Who manages Chicago Heights’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city137 ac
Regional agency48 ac
State natural resources22 ac
Unknown · 120 acLocal Park · 64 acState Recreation Area · 22 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golf Course - East Unknown | Town or city | 69 | Open |
| Golf Course - West Unknown | Town or city | 52 | Open |
| Old Plank Road State Trail State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 22 | Open |
| Commissioner'S Park Local Park | Regional agency | 15 | Open |
| Chicago Heights Lions Club Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Sesto Park Local Park | Regional agency | 6 | Open |
| Mceldowney Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Euclid Park Local Park | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
| Smith Memorial Park Local Park | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
| Hodges Park Local Park | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
10 places to go in Chicago Heights
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Chicago Heights
Greenbriar Playground
DirectionsPlus 7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Chicago Heights
Joe Orr Woods Picnic Shelter Grove 1In Joe Orr Woods
DirectionsWoodrow Wilson Woods Picnic Shelter Grove 1In Woodrow Wilson Woods
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails
Named trails
Thorn Creek Yellow Unpaved Spur0.2 mi
Thorn Creek Black Unpaved Spur0.1 mi
Biking & sports
4.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
17Tennis
11Baseball
4Basketball
4Football
4Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Chicago Heights: 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 | 48 | 60 | 72 | 81 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 64 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Chicago Heights →
Next door
Chicago Heights and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Olympia Fields4.8 miGlenwood3.9 miPark Forest3.1 miChicago Heights2.7 miFlossmoor1.1 miSouth Chicago Heights0.0 miSteger0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Heights | 3% | 0.3 | 8 | 97% | B |
| Glenwood | 2% | 1.2 | 9 | 99% | B+ |
| South Chicago Heights | 3% | under 0.1 | 9 | 98% | C+ |
| Olympia Fields | 7% | 1.6 | 30 | 99% | A |
| Flossmoor | 8% | 0.3 | 21 | 99% | A− |
| Park Forest | 12% | 0.6 | 12 | 94% | A− |
| Steger | 1% | under 0.1 | 2 | 83% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Chicago Heights
Where can I hike in Chicago Heights?
The longest trail networks: Joe Orr Woods, 0.8 miles; Halsted Woods, 0.5 miles; Woodrow Wilson Woods, 0.5 miles; Indian Hill Woods, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Chicago Heights is conserved land?
3% 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 Chicago Heights’ trails?
Joe Orr Woods and Halsted Woods don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Chicago Heights?
4.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Chicago Heights?
9,029 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Chicago Heights or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 210 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Chicago Heights have?
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #441 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 Chicago Heights 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 →