Niabi Zoological Preserve
Managed by Rock Island County Forest Preserve Department
219 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Farragutful · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Coal Valley
23% of Coal Valley’s land is conserved: 465 acres
250 acres are parks and preserves, 59 per 1,000 residents. 95% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.1 miles of mapped trail cross Coal Valley.
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns · #225 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
23%
465 acres · of 3.2 sq mi of land
Trails
0.1 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
250 ac
59 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
95%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Coal Valley?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Coal Valley have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Coal Valley is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #225 of 768 in Illinois. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Coal Valley’s overall grade.
Conserved land23% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land59 acres of park per 1,000 residents (250 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home95% 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 78%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 71%
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 Niabi Zoological Preserve, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
465 conserved acres
23% of Coal Valley’s land. Who manages Coal Valley’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency221 ac
Private owners219 ac
Town or city24 ac
Local Recreation Area · 440 acLocal Park · 24 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Niabi Zoo Forest Preserve Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 221 | Open |
| Oakwood Country Club Local Recreation Area | Private owners | 219 | Open |
| Caol Valley City Park Local Park | Town or city | 23 | Open |
| 19Th Avenue Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Coal Valley
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Coal Valley
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
3 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
3Baseball
2Tennis
1Softball
1Beach volleyball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Coal Valley
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 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 35 | 48 | 62 | 73 | 82 | 84 | 83 | 76 | 64 | 48 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 1.5 | 1.7 | 2.5 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 2.8 | 2.3 | 1.9 |
January is the driest month (1.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.9 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Coal Valley →
Next door
Coal Valley and its neighbors
Coal Valley has the second 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coal Valley | 23% | under 0.1 | 59 | 95% | A− |
| Moline | 5% | 0.7 | 15 | 78% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Coal Valley
Where can I hike in Coal Valley?
The longest trail networks: Niabi Zoological Preserve, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Coal Valley is conserved land?
23% 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 Coal Valley’s trails?
Niabi Zoological Preserve and Coal Valley City Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Coal Valley?
9,672 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Coal Valley or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 250 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Coal Valley have?
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #225 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 Coal Valley 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 →