Moffitt Nature Park
Park
23 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: ProfDEH at en.wikipedia · Public domainB−Outdoors
Outdoors in Chillicothe
Chillicothe has 62 acres of parks, 11 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Moffitt Nature Park (0.6 mi). 73% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1.4 miles of mapped trail cross Chillicothe, 0.3 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns · #508 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
102 acres · of 5.3 sq mi of land
Trails
1.4 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
62 ac
11 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
73%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Chillicothe have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Chillicothe is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns, #508 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 Chillicothe’s 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 (1 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land11 acres of park per 1,000 residents (62 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home73% of residents within a half mile of a park · IL 88% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 50%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 34%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 Moffitt Nature Park, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Chilicothe Bottoms
Nature preserve
69 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Moffitt Nature Park23 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
Santa Fe Park4 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsChilicothe Bottoms69 acres
Shore Acres Park24 acres
DirectionsCity Park3 acres · City of Chillicothe
DirectionsCutright Community Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
102 conserved acres
3% of Chillicothe’s land. Who manages Chillicothe’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits72 ac
Regional agency24 ac
Town or city6 ac
Unknown · 72 acLocal Park · 31 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chillicothe Bottoms Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 72 | Open |
| Shore Acres Park Local Park | Regional agency | 21 | Open |
| Santa Fe Park Local Park | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
| City Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Cutright Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Gollnitze Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
17 places to go in Chillicothe
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Chillicothe
Pearce Community Center Playground
DirectionsRonald Mcdonald PlaygroundIn Cutright Community Park
DirectionsSanta Fe Splash PadIn Santa Fe Park
DirectionsPlus 6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Chillicothe
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Chillicothe
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Chillicothe
4 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Disc golf in Chillicothe
2 disc golf without a name on the map.
Trails & 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
10Baseball
4Football
3Tennis
2Basketball
1Soccer
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Peoria Automobile ClubBuilding · listed 1995
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Chillicothe: 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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 38 | 50 | 64 | 74 | 83 | 86 | 84 | 78 | 65 | 50 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 1.9 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Chillicothe →
Next door
Chillicothe and its neighbors
Chillicothe has the most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chillicothe | 3% | 0.3 | 11 | 73% | B− |
| Rome | under 1% | 0.1 | 6 | 64% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Chillicothe
Where can I hike in Chillicothe?
The longest trail networks: Moffitt Nature Park, 0.6 miles; Santa Fe Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Chillicothe 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 Chillicothe’s trails?
Moffitt Nature Park and Santa Fe Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Chillicothe?
13,232 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Chillicothe or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 141 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Chillicothe have?
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #508 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 Chillicothe 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 →