Chicago Ridge Prairie Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
15 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Chicago Ridge
9% of Chicago Ridge’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. 9% of Chicago Ridge’s land is conserved, about 122 acres. 0.3 miles of mapped trail cross Chicago Ridge, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 67% of U.S. towns · #331 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
122 acres · of 2.3 sq mi of land
Trails
0.3 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
122 ac
8.7 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.5 mi
0.5 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Chicago Ridge?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Chicago Ridge have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Chicago Ridge is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns, #331 of 768 in Illinois. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Chicago Ridge’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4CPark land8.7 acres of park per 1,000 residents (122 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13C+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 67%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 57%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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 Chicago Ridge Prairie Nature Preserve, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Memorial Park
Managed by Oak Lawn Park District
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
122 conserved acres
9% of Chicago Ridge’s land. Who manages Chicago Ridge’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city105 ac
Regional agency17 ac
State conservation14 ac
Local Park · 107 acConservation Easement · 14 acState Conservation Area · 14 acUnknown · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stony Creek Golf Course / Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 90 | Open |
| Chicago Ridge Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Commissioners Park Local Park | Regional agency | 8 | Open |
| Frontier Park Local Park | Regional agency | 3 | Open |
| Memorial Park Local Park | Regional agency | 3 | Open |
| Tower Park Local Park | Regional agency | 2 | Open |
| Guardian Park Local Park | Regional agency | 1 | Open |
| Freedom Activity Center Unknown | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Chicago Ridge
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Chicago Ridge
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Biking & sports
0.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
5Baseball
4Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Chicago Ridge: April, July 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 | 71 | 81 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 64 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.5 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Chicago Ridge →
Next door
Chicago Ridge 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Ridge | 9% | 0.1 | 9 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Oak Lawn | 4% | 0.4 | 4 | 99% | B |
| Worth | 5% | 0.4 | 8 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Worth Township | 5% | 0.2 | 6 | 99% | B |
| Bridgeview | 3% | 0.3 | 4 | 99%+ | B |
| Palos Township | 15% | 2.4 | 6 | 84% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Chicago Ridge
Where can I hike in Chicago Ridge?
The longest trail networks: Chicago Ridge Prairie Nature Preserve, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Chicago Ridge is conserved land?
9% 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 Ridge’s trails?
Chicago Ridge Prairie Nature Preserve and Freedom Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Chicago Ridge?
0.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Chicago Ridge?
9,858 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Chicago Ridge or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 122 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Chicago Ridge have?
Ahead of 67% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #331 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 Ridge 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 →