Photo: 6th Happiness · CC BY-SA 3.0Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Hillside
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 2% of Hillside’s land is conserved, about 32 acres. 41 acres are parks and preserves, 5.0 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns · #429 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Hillside?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Hillside have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hillside is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns, #429 of 768 in Illinois. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
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.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Eisenhower Park, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Old Schoolhouse Community Garden
32 conserved acres
2% of Hillside’s land. Who manages Hillside’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commons Park Local Park | Regional agency | 11 | Open |
| Eisenhower Park Local Park | Regional agency | 11 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Thiele Park Local Park | Regional agency | 2 | Open |
9 places to go in Hillside
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
9 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
0.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
The best walking months in Hillside: April, July 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 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 36 | 47 | 59 | 71 | 81 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 63 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Hillside →
Hillside and its neighbors
Hillside has the second most mapped trails of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hillside | 2% | 0.4 | 5 | 99%+ | B |
| Bellwood | 2% | 0.2 | 2 | 99%+ | B− |
| Berkeley | 1% | under 0.1 | 3 | 99%+ | C |
| Westchester | 6% | 2.1 | 5 | 99%+ | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Hillside
Where can I hike in Hillside?
The longest trail networks: Eisenhower Park, 0.1 miles; Hillside Commons, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hillside 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 Hillside’s trails?
Eisenhower Park and Hillside Commons don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Hillside?
0.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Hillside?
12,581 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hillside or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 41 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Hillside have?
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #429 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 Hillside 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 →