Theodore Stone Forest Preserve
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
137 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: jdkscoop · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Hodgkins
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Hodgkins
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Theodore Stone Forest Preserve (0.9 mi). 1.8 miles of mapped trail cross Hodgkins, 0.7 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
29 acres · of 2.7 sq mi of land
Trails
1.8 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
20 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Hodgkins?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hodgkins have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hodgkins is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Hodgkins’ overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (20 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · IL 88% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 71%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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 Theodore Stone Forest Preserve, with 0.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hodgkins Park
Managed by Hodgkins Park District
7 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Kubicki Park
Managed by Hodgkins Park District
3 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Santa Fe Prairie
Managed by Illinois Nature Preserves Commission
16 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 6 parks & preserves
Theodore Stone Forest Preserve137 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsHodgkins Park7 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Hodgkins Park District
DirectionsKubicki Park3 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Hodgkins Park District
DirectionsSanta Fe Prairie16 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Illinois Nature Preserves Commission
Lenzi Avenue Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsWhispering Willow Park4 acres · Hodgkins Park District
Who protects it
29 conserved acres
2% of Hodgkins’ land. Who manages Hodgkins’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits14 ac
Regional agency14 ac
State conservation11 ac
State Conservation Area · 14 acLocal Park · 14 acConservation Easement · 11 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Fe Prairie State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 14 | Open |
| Hodgkins Park Local Park | Regional agency | 9 | Open |
| Whispering Willow Park Local Park | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
| Lenzi Park Local Park | Regional agency | 1 | Open |
Things to do
9 places to go in Hodgkins
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Hodgkins
6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Hodgkins
Des Plaines River
DirectionsPicnic areas in Hodgkins
Theodore Stone Forest Picnic Grove 2In Theodore Stone Forest Preserve
DirectionsTheodore Stone Forest Picnic Shelter Grove 1In Theodore Stone Forest Preserve
DirectionsBiking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
3Basketball
2Baseball
1Volleyball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Hodgkins: 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) | 9.5 | 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 | 47 | 60 | 71 | 81 | 84 | 83 | 76 | 63 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 2.6 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Hodgkins →
Next door
Hodgkins and its neighbors
Hodgkins has the second most mapped trails of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hodgkins | 2% | 0.7 | 12 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Countryside | 2% | 2.5 | 5 | 99% | B+ |
| Willow Springs | 1% | 0.3 | 6 | 95% | B− |
| Bedford Park | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Justice | 2% | 0.1 | 3 | 88% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Hodgkins
Where can I hike in Hodgkins?
The longest trail networks: Theodore Stone Forest Preserve, 0.9 miles; Hodgkins Park, 0.4 miles; Kubicki Park, 0.3 miles; Santa Fe Prairie, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hodgkins 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 Hodgkins’ trails?
Theodore Stone Forest Preserve and Hodgkins Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Hodgkins?
12,448 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hodgkins or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 20 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Hodgkins have?
Ahead of 71% 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 Hodgkins 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 →