Oldfield Oaks Forest Preserve
Managed by Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
105 acres2.2 mi of trail
North LoopSouth Loop
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Bnperdue2010 · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Darien
6% of Darien’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. 8.8 miles of mapped trail cross Darien, 1.4 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Oldfield Oaks Forest Preserve (2.2 mi), Darien Community Park (1.2 mi).
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns · #144 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
255 acres · of 6.2 sq mi of land
Trails
8.8 mi
1.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
162 ac
7.4 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
7.6 mi
1.6 mi lanes · 5.6 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Darien?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Darien have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Darien is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #144 of 768 in Illinois. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Darien’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land7.4 acres of park per 1,000 residents (162 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 84%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 81%
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 Oldfield Oaks Forest Preserve, with 2.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Birchwood Park
Managed by Downers Grove Park District
9 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Fox Hollow Forest Preserve
Managed by Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
45 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 18 parks & preserves
Oldfield Oaks Forest Preserve105 acres · 2.2 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
DirectionsDarien Community Park19 acres · 1.2 mi of trail
DirectionsBirchwood Park9 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Downers Grove Park District
Smart Oaks Park6 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsMeyer Woods Park9 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsLindenwood Park7 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsHolly Park5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Downers Grove Park District
Darien Eisenhower Field5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Bowl Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Fox Hollow Forest Preserve45 acres · Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
South Grove Park #120 acres
DirectionsSouth Grove Park #211 acres
Hinsbrook Park9 acres
DirectionsRidgewood Park6 acres
Pinewood Park6 acres
Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve3 acres · Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
DirectionsGarden View Park2 acres · Darien Park District
DirectionsChestnut Park2 acres
Who protects it
255 conserved acres
6% of Darien’s land. Who manages Darien’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency252 ac
Private owners3 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 134 acLocal Park · 107 acLocal Resource Management Area · 10 acPrivate Historic or Cultural · 3 acLocal Conservation Area · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 17 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oldfield Oaks 1 Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 93 | Unknown |
| Fox Hollow 1 Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 42 | Unknown |
| South Grove Park #1 Local Park | Regional agency | 22 | Open |
| Darien Community Park Local Park | Regional agency | 19 | Open |
| South Grove Park #2 Local Park | Regional agency | 11 | Open |
| Oldfield Oaks 6 Local Resource Management Area | Regional agency | 10 | Open |
| Meyers Woods Park Local Park | Regional agency | 9 | Open |
| Pinewood Park Local Park | Regional agency | 9 | Open |
| Birchwood Park Local Park | Regional agency | 9 | Open |
| Hinsbrook Park Local Park | Regional agency | 8 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
22 places to go in Darien
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Darien
18 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Darien
Oldfield Oaks Dog ParkIn Oldfield Oaks Forest Preserve
DirectionsOldfield Oaks Dog ParkIn Oldfield Oaks Forest Preserve
DirectionsPicnic areas in Darien
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 named trails
Named trails
North Loop1.1 mi
South Loop0.6 mi
Biking & sports
7.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.6 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
5.6 mi
off-road bike paths
0.4 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
14Baseball
11Tennis
5Basketball
2Soccer
2Beach volleyball
2Volleyball
1Pickleball
1Football
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 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Old Lace SchoolBuilding · listed 2026
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Darien: 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) | 31 | 36 | 47 | 60 | 71 | 81 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 63 | 48 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 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 Darien →
Next door
Darien 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darien | 6% | 1.4 | 7 | 99%+ | A− |
| Downers Grove | 10% | 0.9 | 13 | 97% | A |
| Woodridge | 10% | 0.8 | 15 | 97% | A |
| Willowbrook | 3% | 0.6 | 7 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Westmont | 6% | 1.8 | 9 | 99% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Darien
Where can I hike in Darien?
The longest trail networks: Oldfield Oaks Forest Preserve, 2.2 miles; Darien Community Park, 1.2 miles; Birchwood Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Darien is conserved land?
6% 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 Darien’s trails?
Oldfield Oaks Forest Preserve and Darien Community Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Darien?
7.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.6 of painted or protected lanes, 5.6 of off-road paths and 0.4 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Darien?
17,539 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Darien or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 162 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Darien have?
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #144 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 Darien 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 →