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Ridge Road in Downtown HomewoodPhoto: Dennisyerger84 · CC BY-SA 3.0
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Homewood

5% of Homewood’s land is conserved, and 99% of residents live within a half mile of a park

5.2 miles of mapped trail cross Homewood, 1.0 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Izaak Walton Preserve (1.9 mi), Apollo Park (0.7 mi), Patriots Park (0.5 mi). 5% of Homewood’s land is conserved, about 176 acres.

Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns · #123 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Conserved land
5%
176 acres · of 5.0 sq mi of land
Trails
5.2 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
348 ac
18 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.5 mi
0.5 mi lanes · 0.2 mi paths

What kind of outdoors town is Homewood?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Parks close to home99% of residents live within a half mile of a park.A trail town1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 81% of U.S. towns.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Homewood have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Homewood is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #123 of 768 in Illinois. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.

A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Homewood’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land18 acres of park per 1,000 residents (348 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13BParks 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 86%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 84%
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.

123456
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 Izaak Walton Preserve, with 1.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Izaak Walton Preserve

Managed by Izaak Walton League
170 acres1.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Apollo Park

Managed by Homewood-Flossmoor Park District
32 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Patriots Park

Managed by Homewood-Flossmoor Park District
12 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Woodbrough Park

Managed by Homewood-Flossmoor Park District
6 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Dolphin Lake Park

Managed by Homewood-Flossmoor Park District
10 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Indian Trail Park

Managed by Homewood-Flossmoor Park District
9 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 20 parks & preserves
Izaak Walton Preserve170 acres · 1.9 mi of trail · Izaak Walton League
Directions
Apollo Park32 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · Homewood-Flossmoor Park District
Directions
Patriots Park12 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Homewood-Flossmoor Park District
Directions
Woodbrough Park6 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Homewood-Flossmoor Park District
Directions
Dolphin Lake Park10 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Homewood-Flossmoor Park District
Directions
Indian Trail Park9 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Homewood-Flossmoor Park District
Well Park9 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Homewood-Flossmoor Park District
Willow Park5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Homewood-Flossmoor Park District
Directions
Orchard Park8 acres · Homewood-Flossmoor Park District
Lions Park8 acres · Homewood-Flossmoor Park District
Directions
Richard D. Irwin Park7 acres · Homewood-Flossmoor Park District
Millennium Park6 acres · Homewood-Flossmoor Park District
Pinewood Park6 acres · Homewood-Flossmoor Park District
Hollydale Park4 acres
Directions
Merchants Park2 acres · Homewood-Flossmoor Park District
Scandia Park2 acres · Homewood-Flossmoor Park District
Hillcrest Park1 acres · Homewood-Flossmoor Park District
Heritage Park1 acres · Homewood-Flossmoor Park District
Tower Park1 acres · Homewood-Flossmoor Park District
Independence Park1 acres · Homewood-Flossmoor Park District
Directions
Who protects it

176 conserved acres

5% of Homewood’s land. Who manages Homewood’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

Regional agency145 ac
Town or city30 ac
Local Park · 154 acLocal Recreation Area · 20 ac
The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Apollo Park
Local Park
Regional agency45Open
Veterans Of Foreign Wars Little League Park
Local Recreation Area
Town or city20Open
Butterfield Park
Local Park
Regional agency17Open
Homewood Estates Park
Local Park
Regional agency14Open
Patriots Park
Local Park
Regional agency11Open
Woodbrough Park
Local Park
Regional agency9Open
Lions Park And Pool
Local Park
Regional agency8Open
Dolphin Lake Park
Local Park
Regional agency8Open
Millennium Park
Local Park
Regional agency6Open
Pinewood Park
Local Park
Regional agency6Open

5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.

Things to do

8 places to go in Homewood

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Playgrounds in Homewood
McDonald's PlayPlace
Directions

Plus 7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.

Trails & water

1 named trail

Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.4 mi
Bicycle Paths0.2 mi
Biking & sports

1.5 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

0.5 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.2 mi
off-road bike paths
0.9 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
12Baseball
4Tennis
4Pickleball
2Beach volleyball
1Skate park

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

1 place on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.

History →
Ravisloe Country ClubDistrict · listed 2021
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in Homewood: April, August 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.510.511.813.314.515.214.913.812.411.09.89.2
High (°F)323648607181848276634937
Rain (in)2.22.02.43.84.44.44.24.03.43.52.72.2

February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Homewood →

Next door

Homewood and its neighbors

Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Rich Township29 miBloom Township29 miHomewood5.2 miGlenwood3.9 miHazel Crest2.1 miFlossmoor1.1 miThornton0.0 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Homewood5%1.01899%A
Flossmoor8%0.32199%A−
Hazel Crest6%0.61199%+A−
Thornton2%under 0.11299%+C+
Glenwood2%1.2999%B+
Bloom Township3%0.61092%B+
Rich Township11%0.81296%A−

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in Homewood

Where can I hike in Homewood?

The longest trail networks: Izaak Walton Preserve, 1.9 miles; Apollo Park, 0.7 miles; Patriots Park, 0.5 miles; Woodbrough Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Homewood is conserved land?

5% 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 Homewood’s trails?

Izaak Walton Preserve and Apollo Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in Homewood?

1.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.5 of painted or protected lanes, 0.2 of off-road paths and 0.9 of shoulders and shared lanes.

Is there public land near Homewood?

10,776 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Homewood or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 349 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Homewood have?

Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #123 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 Homewood neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →