Chain O'Lakes State Park
Managed by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
29 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: DosEquis630708 · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Fox Lake
Fox Lake has 155 acres of parks, 14 for every 1,000 residents
92% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1.0 miles of mapped trail cross Fox Lake, 0.1 per square mile of land. 3% of Fox Lake’s land is conserved, about 166 acres.
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns · #457 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
166 acres · of 7.8 sq mi of land
Trails
1.0 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
155 ac
14 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
92%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.2 mi
2.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Fox Lake?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Fox Lake have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Fox Lake is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns, #457 of 768 in Illinois. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Fox Lake’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4CPark land14 acres of park per 1,000 residents (155 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13BParks close to home92% 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 56%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 41%
Water is 17% of Fox Lake’s area (2 of 9 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 3%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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 Chain O'Lakes State Park, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Gander Mountain Forest Preserve
Managed by Lake County Forest Preserves
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
166 conserved acres
3% of Fox Lake’s land. Water is left out: Fox Lake has 7.8 square miles of land and 1.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Fox Lake’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city87 ac
State conservation79 ac
State Park · 64 acState Conservation Area · 55 acLocal Park · 20 acState Resource Management Area · 15 acLocal Conservation Area · 11 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chain O'Lakes State Park State Park | State conservation | 64 | Open |
| Dunn's Lake State Conservation Area | Town or city | 52 | Open |
| Nippersink Lake Open Space State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 15 | Open |
| Veterans Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Village Of Fox Lake Open Space Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Lake Front Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Millennium Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Stanley Road Bog State Conservation Area | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Intern Seep State Conservation Area | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Fox Lake
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Fox Lake
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Fox Lake
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Community gardens in Fox Lake
1 community garden without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 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.
2.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
11Tennis
7Baseball
2Soccer
2Football
1Softball
1Skate park
1Volleyball
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).
Mineola HotelBuilding · listed 1979
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Fox Lake: July to 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 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 34 | 45 | 58 | 69 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 62 | 47 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 1.8 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Fox Lake →
Next door
Fox Lake 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fox Lake | 3% | 0.1 | 14 | 92% | B |
| Spring Grove | 3% | 0.1 | 34 | 78% | B |
| Volo | 13% | under 0.1 | 21 | 88% | B |
| Burton Township | 8% | 0.2 | 78 | 85% | A− |
| Antioch Township | 39% | 0.4 | 264 | 92% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Fox Lake
Where can I hike in Fox Lake?
The longest trail networks: Chain O'Lakes State Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Fox Lake is conserved land?
3% 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 Fox Lake’s trails?
Chain O'Lakes State Park and Lakefront Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Fox Lake?
2.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Fox Lake?
26,924 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Fox Lake or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 172 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Fox Lake have?
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #457 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 Fox Lake 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 →