Arie Crown Forest
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
392 acres4.1 mi of trail
Yellow Unpaved TrailBlack Unpaved TrailOrange Unpaved TrailBlue Unpaved Spur Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Countryside
Countryside has 7.2 miles of mapped trails, 2.5 for every square mile of land
99% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Arie Crown Forest (4.1 mi), Countryside Park (0.6 mi), Ideal Park (0.5 mi). 2% of Countryside’s land is conserved, about 28 acres.
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns · #297 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
28 acres · of 2.9 sq mi of land
Trails
7.2 mi
2.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
34 ac
5.4 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.8 mi
1.8 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Countryside?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Countryside have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Countryside is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns, #297 of 768 in Illinois. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Countryside’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%C+Trails2.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land5.4 acres of park per 1,000 residents (34 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13CParks close to home99% 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 70%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 61%
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 Arie Crown Forest, with 4.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Soehrman Park
Park
7 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 10 parks & preserves
Arie Crown Forest392 acres · 4.1 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsCountryside Park11 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsIdeal Park7 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsSoehrman Park7 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Andrew Whiting Memorial Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsCity Park4 acres
DirectionsMemorial Park1 acres
DirectionsLarry Robb Park1 acres
DirectionsSrejma-Michalek Memorial Tot Lot1 acres
Country Club Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
28 conserved acres
2% of Countryside’s land. Who manages Countryside’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city21 ac
Regional agency6 ac
Local Park · 27 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Countryside Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Soehrman Park Local Park | Regional agency | 6 | Open |
| Ideal Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| City Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Andrew Whiting Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
12 places to go in Countryside
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Countryside
8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Countryside
Arie Crown Forest Picnic Shelter Grove 3In Arie Crown Forest
DirectionsSundown Meadow Picnic Grove 3In Arie Crown Forest
DirectionsSundown Meadow Picnic Shelter Grove 1In Arie Crown Forest
DirectionsSundown Meadow Picnic Shelter Grove 2In Arie Crown Forest
DirectionsTrails & water
4 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.4 miUnpaved · 3.5 mi
Yellow Unpaved Trail2.3 mi
Black Unpaved Trail0.8 mi
Orange Unpaved Trail0.3 mi
Blue Unpaved Spur Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Arie Crown Forest Unpaved TrailsBike route
3.4 miCourts & fields
5Baseball
3Basketball
3Tennis
2Soccer
1Volleyball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Countryside: 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 | 47 | 60 | 71 | 81 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 63 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 2.6 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Countryside →
Next door
Countryside and its neighbors
Countryside has the most mapped trails of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Countryside | 2% | 2.5 | 5 | 99% | B+ |
| Hodgkins | 2% | 0.7 | 12 | 99%+ | B+ |
| La Grange | 4% | 1.0 | 5 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Indian Head Park | 1% | 0.8 | 3 | 99%+ | B |
| Burr Ridge | 3% | 0.7 | 14 | 94% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Countryside
Where can I hike in Countryside?
The longest trail networks: Arie Crown Forest, 4.1 miles; Countryside Park, 0.6 miles; Ideal Park, 0.5 miles; Soehrman Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Countryside is conserved land?
2% 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 Countryside’s trails?
Arie Crown Forest and Countryside Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Countryside?
1.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.8 of off-road paths. Named routes: Arie Crown Forest Unpaved Trails.
Is there public land near Countryside?
12,955 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Countryside or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 34 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Countryside have?
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #297 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 Countryside 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 →