Warren Special Recreation
Park
68 acres1.7 mi of trail
Warren Township Physical Education Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Gages Lake
9% of Gages Lake’s land is conserved, and 98% of residents live within a half mile of a park
3.3 miles of mapped trail cross Gages Lake, 1.1 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Warren Special Recreation (1.7 mi). 9% of Gages Lake’s land is conserved, about 174 acres.
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns · #138 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
174 acres · of 3.0 sq mi of land
Trails
3.3 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
118 ac
11 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.5 mi
1.5 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
5
5 beaches · 6 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Gages Lake?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Gages Lake have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Gages Lake is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #138 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 Gages Lake’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land11 acres of park per 1,000 residents (118 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home98% 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 85%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 82%
Water is 6% of Gages Lake’s area (0 of 3 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 9%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Warren Special Recreation, with 1.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Twin Lakes Park
Park
10 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Rule Park
Park
7 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Willow Point Park
Park
6 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 8 parks & preserves
Warren Special Recreation68 acres · 1.7 mi of trail
DirectionsTwin Lakes Park10 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Rule Park7 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Willow Point Park6 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Pebble Beach2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Valley Lake South1 acres
Valley Lake North1 acres
Sunset Park1 acres
Who protects it
174 conserved acres
9% of Gages Lake’s land. Water is left out: Gages Lake has 3.0 square miles of land and 0.2 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Gages Lake’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city142 ac
Regional agency31 ac
Local Park · 99 acUnknown · 68 acLocal Conservation Area · 6 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warren Township Center Local Park | Town or city | 74 | Open |
| Gages Lake Unknown | Town or city | 56 | Open |
| Valley Lake Unknown | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Twin Lakes Park Local Park | Regional agency | 9 | Open |
| Rule Park Local Park | Regional agency | 7 | Open |
| Brae Loch Golf Club Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 6 | Open |
| Willow Point Park Local Park | Regional agency | 6 | Open |
| Pebble Beach Park Local Park | Regional agency | 2 | Open |
| Sunset Park - Wildwood Local Park | Regional agency | 1 | Open |
Things to do
23 places to go in Gages Lake
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Gages Lake
5 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Gages Lake
Warren Township ParkIn Warren Special Recreation
DirectionsPlus 11 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Gages Lake
6 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.5 mi
Warren Township Physical Education Trail0.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
12Tennis
8Baseball
3Soccer
1Basketball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Gages 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 | 57 | 68 | 78 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 61 | 47 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 1.9 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Gages Lake →
Next door
Gages 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gages Lake | 9% | 1.1 | 11 | 98% | A− |
| Gurnee | 10% | 1.1 | 18 | 97% | A |
| Third Lake | 6% | under 0.1 | 22 | 99%+ | B |
| Grayslake | 9% | 0.6 | 23 | 99%+ | A |
| Warren Township | 12% | 0.5 | 32 | 96% | A |
| Avon Township | 20% | 0.5 | 39 | 99%+ | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Gages Lake
Where can I hike in Gages Lake?
The longest trail networks: Warren Special Recreation, 1.7 miles; Twin Lakes Park, 0.2 miles; Rule Park, 0.2 miles; Willow Point Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Gages Lake is conserved land?
9% 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 Gages Lake’s trails?
Warren Special Recreation and Twin Lakes Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Gages Lake?
1.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Gages Lake?
22,851 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Gages Lake or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 187 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Gages Lake have?
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #138 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 Gages 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 →