Sweetwater Park
Park
25 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK · CC BY 2.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Elmwood
11% of Elmwood’s land is conserved, and 99% of residents live within a half mile of a park
11% of Elmwood’s land is conserved, about 94 acres. 38 acres are parks and preserves, 16 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
11%
94 acres · of 1.4 sq mi of land
Trails
0.0 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
38 ac
16 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Elmwood?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Elmwood have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Elmwood is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Elmwood’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4DPark land16 acres of park per 1,000 residents (38 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13BParks 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 61%
LessMore
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Elmwood. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
94 conserved acres
11% of Elmwood’s land. Who manages Elmwood’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners63 ac
Town or city31 ac
Local Recreation Area · 83 acLocal Park · 10 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maple Lane Country Club Local Recreation Area | Private owners | 63 | Open |
| Sweetwater Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| Central Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| West Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
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
5Baseball
2Basketball
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.
Pioneers, TheObject · listed 2001
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Elmwood: 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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 37 | 50 | 63 | 74 | 83 | 86 | 84 | 78 | 65 | 50 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 1.8 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 3.8 | 5.0 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
January is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.0 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Elmwood →
Questions about parks and trails in Elmwood
How much of Elmwood is conserved land?
11% 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 Elmwood’s trails?
Sweetwater Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Elmwood?
3,918 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Elmwood or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 38 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Elmwood have?
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Elmwood 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 →