Forest Park
Managed by Park District of Forest Park
20 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Dennisyerger84 · CC BY-SA 4.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Forest Park
96% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Forest Park
31 acres are parks and preserves, 2.2 per 1,000 residents. 1% of Forest Park’s land is conserved, about 19 acres. 0.3 miles of mapped trail cross Forest Park, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 35% of U.S. towns · #614 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
19 acres · of 2.4 sq mi of land
Trails
0.3 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
31 ac
2.2 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
96%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.2 mi
0.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Forest Park?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Forest Park have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Forest Park is ahead of 35% of U.S. towns, #614 of 768 in Illinois. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Forest Park’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4CPark land2.2 acres of park per 1,000 residents (31 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home96% 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 35%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 20%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to 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 Forest Park, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Reiger Park
Managed by Park District of Forest Park
1 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
19 conserved acres
1% of Forest Park’s land. Who manages Forest Park’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency18 ac
Town or city1 ac
Local Park · 19 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Park Local Park | Regional agency | 18 | Open |
| Forest Park Tot Lot Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
12 places to go in Forest Park
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Forest Park
Remembrance Park PlaygroundIn Remembrance Park
DirectionsPlus 10 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Forest Park
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.2 mi
off-road bike paths
2.1 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
6Tennis
3Baseball
2Beach volleyball
1Hockey rinks
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 6 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Corbin, Dr. Joseph Carter, GravesiteSite · listed 2023
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Forest Park: 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 36 | 47 | 59 | 71 | 80 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 63 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Forest Park →
Next door
Forest Park and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Proviso Township23 miRiver Forest7.1 miRiver Forest Township7.1 miNorth Riverside5.4 miMaywood0.6 miForest Park0.3 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Park | 1% | 0.1 | 2 | 96% | C+ |
| Maywood | 2% | 0.2 | 2 | 99%+ | B− |
| River Forest | 2% | 2.9 | 5 | 99%+ | A− |
| River Forest Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Proviso Township | 3% | 0.8 | 2 | 99%+ | B |
| North Riverside | 14% | 3.3 | 6 | 96% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Forest Park
Where can I hike in Forest Park?
The longest trail networks: Forest Park, 0.1 miles; Reiger Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Forest Park is conserved land?
1% 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 Forest Park’s trails?
Forest Park and Reiger Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Forest Park?
2.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.2 of off-road paths and 2.1 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Forest Park?
10,330 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Forest Park or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 31 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Forest Park have?
Ahead of 35% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #614 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 Forest Park 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 →