Spring Brook Park
Park
45 acres2.1 mi of trail
Itasca Riverwalk
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: bogdanstepniak · CC BY 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Itasca
8% of Itasca’s land is conserved, and 96% of residents live within a half mile of a park
The biggest trail networks: Spring Brook Park (2.1 mi). 3.9 miles of mapped trail cross Itasca, 0.8 per square mile of land. 8% of Itasca’s land is conserved, about 251 acres.
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns · #114 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
251 acres · of 5.1 sq mi of land
Trails
3.9 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
248 ac
26 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
96%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.4 mi
5.1 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Itasca?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Itasca have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Itasca is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns, #114 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 Itasca’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land26 acres of park per 1,000 residents (248 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home96% 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 87%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 85%
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.
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 Spring Brook Park, with 2.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Noth Salt Creek Forest Preserve;North Salt Creek County Forest Preserve
Managed by Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
100 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Songbird Slough Forest Preserve
Managed by Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
38 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Meacham Wildlife Preserve
Managed by Medinah Park District
16 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 14 parks & preserves
Spring Brook Park45 acres · 2.1 mi of trail
DirectionsWashington Park11 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsSongbird Slough Forest Preserve38 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
DirectionsCountry Club Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Noth Salt Creek Forest Preserve;North Salt Creek County Forest Preserve100 acres · Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
DirectionsMeacham Wildlife Preserve16 acres · Medinah Park District
DirectionsRaymond Benson Park9 acres
DirectionsItasca Softball Complex7 acres
DirectionsHappy Acres Park7 acres · Itasca Park District
Peacock Park6 acres
Frazen Park6 acres
Wesley G. Usher Memorial Park5 acres · Itasca Park District
DirectionsSchiller Park5 acres
James Clayson Park2 acres · Itasca Park District
Who protects it
251 conserved acres
8% of Itasca’s land. Who manages Itasca’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency163 ac
Town or city92 ac
State natural resources1 ac
Local Conservation Area · 166 acLocal Park · 46 acLocal Recreation Area · 23 acState Conservation Area · 16 acLocal Resource Management Area · 3 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Salt Creek County Forest Preserve Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 66 | Open |
| Springbrook Nature Center Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 59 | Open |
| Softball Complex Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 23 | Open |
| Songbird Slough 6 Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 22 | Restricted |
| Meacham Wildlife Preserve State Conservation Area | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Campbell Slough County Forest Preserve Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 15 | Open |
| Benson Park Local Park | Regional agency | 9 | Open |
| Washington Park Local Park | Regional agency | 8 | Open |
| Happy Acres Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Usher Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
15 places to go in Itasca
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Itasca
14 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Itasca
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.6 miUnpaved · 1.3 mi
Itasca Riverwalk0.3 mi
Biking & sports
5.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.1 mi
off-road bike paths
0.3 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
13Baseball
8Tennis
5Basketball
2Soccer
2Pickleball
2Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Itasca: 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 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 35 | 47 | 59 | 71 | 80 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 63 | 48 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 1.9 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 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 Itasca →
Next door
Itasca and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Addison Township22 miElk Grove Township19 miElk Grove Village9.7 miWood Dale5.4 miItasca3.9 miRoselle1.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Itasca | 8% | 0.8 | 26 | 96% | A |
| Wood Dale | 17% | 1.1 | 37 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Roselle | 6% | 0.2 | 12 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Elk Grove Village | 4% | 0.8 | 10 | 99% | A− |
| Addison Township | 15% | 0.7 | 32 | 99%+ | A |
| Elk Grove Township | 6% | 0.7 | 6 | 96% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Itasca
Where can I hike in Itasca?
The longest trail networks: Spring Brook Park, 2.1 miles; Songbird Slough Forest Preserve, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Itasca is conserved land?
8% 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 Itasca’s trails?
Spring Brook Park and Noth Salt Creek Forest Preserve;North Salt Creek County Forest Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Itasca?
5.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.1 of off-road paths and 0.3 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Itasca?
16,965 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Itasca or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 248 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Itasca have?
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #114 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 Itasca 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 →