Few parks or trails are on the map in Heritage Lake
9 acres are parks and preserves, 5.7 per 1,000 residents. 1% of Heritage Lake’s land is conserved, about 9 acres. 50% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 17% of U.S. towns. What drives it
How much outdoors does Heritage Lake have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Heritage Lake is ahead of 17% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park comes closest.
Water is 9% of Heritage Lake’s area (0 of 1 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 1%.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
9 conserved acres
1% of Heritage Lake’s land. Water is left out: Heritage Lake has 1.1 square miles of land and 0.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Heritage Lake’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heritage Lake Beach Park Local Park | Private owners | 8 | Open |
| Mackinaw River State Recreation Area | Other state land | 1 | Open |
1 lakes & rivers
August is the best month for walking in Heritage Lake
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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 38 | 51 | 64 | 74 | 83 | 85 | 84 | 78 | 66 | 51 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.8 | 2.6 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 2.7 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Heritage Lake →
Heritage Lake and its neighbors
Heritage Lake has the most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heritage Lake | 1% | under 0.1 | 6 | 50% | C− |
| Mackinaw | 6% | under 0.1 | 22 | 99%+ | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Heritage Lake
How much of Heritage Lake 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.
Is there public land near Heritage Lake?
1,657 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Heritage Lake or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 9 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Heritage Lake have?
Ahead of 17% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Heritage Lake neighbors.
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 →