Russel Woods
Nature preserve
63 acres1.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Genoa
99% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Genoa
4.3 miles of mapped trail cross Genoa, 1.7 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Russel Woods (1.8 mi), Kiernan Park (1.4 mi). 113 acres are parks and preserves, 21 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns · #132 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
50 acres · of 2.6 sq mi of land
Trails
4.3 mi
1.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
113 ac
21 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.0 mi
1.0 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Genoa?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Genoa have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Genoa is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #132 of 768 in Illinois. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Genoa’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B−Trails1.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land21 acres of park per 1,000 residents (113 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B+Parks 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 85%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 83%
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 Russel Woods, with 1.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Genoa Township Park District
Park
26 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
50 conserved acres
3% of Genoa’s land. Who manages Genoa’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency39 ac
Town or city11 ac
Local Park · 47 acLocal Conservation Area · 2 acUnknown · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chamberlain Park Local Park | Regional agency | 25 | Open |
| David Carrol Memorial Citizens Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Kernan Park Local Park | Regional agency | 8 | Open |
| Lions Corner Park Local Park | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
| Russell Forest Preserve Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 2 | Open |
| Unnamed Property Unknown | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Genoa
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Genoa
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.5 mi
Forest View Praire Trail0.1 mi
Biking & sports
1.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.0 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
9Baseball
3Soccer
1Football
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 Genoa: April 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 | 14.6 | 15.2 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 34 | 46 | 59 | 71 | 80 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 62 | 47 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 1.8 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 1.9 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Genoa →
Next door
Genoa 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genoa | 3% | 1.7 | 21 | 99% | A |
| Genoa Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Kingston Township | 3% | 0.5 | 123 | 62% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Genoa
Where can I hike in Genoa?
The longest trail networks: Russel Woods, 1.8 miles; Kiernan Park, 1.4 miles; Lions Corner Park, 0.3 miles; Genoa Township Park District, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Genoa 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 Genoa’s trails?
Russel Woods and Kiernan Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Genoa?
1.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.0 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Genoa?
3,951 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Genoa or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 114 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Genoa have?
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #132 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 Genoa 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 →