Briggs-Ellis Park
Managed by Harvey Park District
9 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: davidwilson1949 · CC BY 2.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Harvey
99% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Harvey
90 acres are parks and preserves, 4.5 per 1,000 residents. 2% of Harvey’s land is conserved, about 100 acres. 1.5 miles of mapped trail cross Harvey, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns · #485 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
100 acres · of 6.2 sq mi of land
Trails
1.5 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
90 ac
4.5 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.2 mi
0.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Harvey?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Harvey have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Harvey is ahead of 52% of U.S. towns, #485 of 768 in Illinois. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Harvey’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land4.5 acres of park per 1,000 residents (90 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13CParks 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 52%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 37%
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 Briggs-Ellis Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Taft Park
Park
7 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Kickapoo Woods
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
34 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
New Holmes Park
Park
7 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 12 parks & preserves
Briggs-Ellis Park9 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Harvey Park District
Taft Park7 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Lincoln Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Harvey Park District
Kickapoo Woods34 acres · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
New Holmes Park7 acres
Indian Boundary Prairies5 acres · The Nature Conservancy
Harmon Park5 acres · Harvey Park District
Lexington Park5 acres · Harvey Park District
Cooper Park4 acres · Harvey Park District
DirectionsSouthwest Park4 acres · Harvey Park District
DirectionsAshland Park4 acres · Harvey Park District
Calumet Park1 acres · Harvey Park District
Who protects it
100 conserved acres
2% of Harvey’s land. Who manages Harvey’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency55 ac
Town or city18 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits15 ac
State conservation5 ac
Private owners1 ac
Not recorded9 ac
Local Park · 81 acPrivate Conservation · 15 acConservation Easement · 5 acUnknown · 2 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 23 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Worthy Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Indian Boundary Prairies Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 15 | Unknown |
| Taft Park Local Park | Regional agency | 10 | Open |
| Riverside Park Local Park | Not recorded | 9 | Open |
| New Holmes Park Local Park | Regional agency | 9 | Open |
| Briggs-Ellis Park Local Park | Regional agency | 8 | Open |
| Harmon Park Local Park | Regional agency | 6 | Open |
| Ashland Park Local Park | Regional agency | 5 | Open |
| Lincoln Park Local Park | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
| Lexington Park Local Park | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
2 places to go in Harvey
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Harvey
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.2 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
Courts & fields
7Tennis
4Basketball
1Soccer
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Harvey: 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) | 9.5 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 36 | 48 | 60 | 71 | 81 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 64 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 2.7 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Harvey →
Next door
Harvey 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harvey | 2% | 0.2 | 4 | 99% | B− |
| South Holland | 5% | 0.6 | 9 | 99%+ | A− |
| Markham | 14% | 0.7 | 34 | 95% | A |
| Dixmoor | under 1% | 0.1 | under 1 | 92% | C− |
| Dolton | 3% | under 0.1 | 5 | 99%+ | B− |
| Posen | 2% | under 0.1 | 3 | 99%+ | C |
| Hazel Crest | 6% | 0.6 | 11 | 99%+ | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Harvey
Where can I hike in Harvey?
The longest trail networks: Briggs-Ellis Park, 0.3 miles; Taft Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Harvey is conserved land?
2% 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 Harvey’s trails?
Briggs-Ellis Park and Taft Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Harvey?
0.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Harvey?
11,745 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Harvey or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 92 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Harvey have?
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #485 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 Harvey 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 →