Nichols Park
Park
71 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: User:Dailynetworks · Public domainC+Outdoors
Outdoors in Jacksonville
Jacksonville has 329 acres of parks, 18 for every 1,000 residents
0.5 miles of mapped trail cross Jacksonville. 75% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3% of Jacksonville’s land is conserved, about 173 acres.
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns · #553 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
173 acres · of 10.6 sq mi of land
Trails
0.5 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
329 ac
18 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
75%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Jacksonville?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Jacksonville have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Jacksonville is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns, #553 of 768 in Illinois. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Jacksonville’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land18 acres of park per 1,000 residents (329 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13BParks close to home75% of residents within a half mile of a park · IL 88% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 44%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 28%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B. 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 Nichols Park, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Foreman Grove Park & Jacksonville Disc Golf Course
Park
9 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Duncan Park
Park
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 8 parks & preserves
Nichols Park71 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Future Champions Sport Complex21 acres
DirectionsForeman Grove Park & Jacksonville Disc Golf Course9 acres
DirectionsDuncan Park6 acres
Central Park3 acres
DirectionsKiwanis Park2 acres
Veterans Park2 acres
Barr Park2 acres
Who protects it
173 conserved acres
3% of Jacksonville’s land. Who manages Jacksonville’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city151 ac
Private owners22 ac
Local Park · 151 acLocal Recreation Area · 22 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nichols Park Local Park | Town or city | 67 | Open |
| Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 58 | Open |
| Lenz Field & Sports Complex Local Recreation Area | Private owners | 22 | Open |
| Foreman Grove Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Duncan Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Central Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Kiwanis Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Barr Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Veterans Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
10 places to go in Jacksonville
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Jacksonville
Nichols Park PoolIn Nichols Park
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Jacksonville
7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Jacksonville
Dog parkIn Veterans Park
DirectionsJacksonville PetSafe Bark Park
DirectionsTrails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & 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
25Baseball
22Tennis
9Football
7Soccer
4Pickleball
4Basketball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →9 places 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.
Joseph Duncan HouseBuilding · listed 1971
About itBeecher Hall, Illinois CollegeBuilding · listed 1974
About itJacksonville Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1978
About itJacksonville Labor TempleBuilding · listed 1980
About itGen. Benjamin Henry Grierson HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itMorgan County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1986
About itAyers Bank BuildingBuilding · listed 1986
About itJacksonville Public LibraryBuilding · listed 2000
About itJacksonville Downtown Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2018
About itWhen to get out
August is the best month for walking in Jacksonville
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 | 14.3 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 36 | 41 | 52 | 65 | 75 | 83 | 87 | 85 | 79 | 67 | 53 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.9 | 2.8 | 4.1 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Jacksonville →
Next door
Jacksonville and its neighbors
Jacksonville 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville | 3% | under 0.1 | 18 | 75% | C+ |
| South Jacksonville | 1% | under 0.1 | 27 | 95% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Jacksonville
Where can I hike in Jacksonville?
The longest trail networks: Nichols Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Jacksonville is conserved land?
3% 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 Jacksonville’s trails?
Nichols Park and Future Champions Sport Complex don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Jacksonville?
536 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Jacksonville or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 329 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Jacksonville have?
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #553 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 Jacksonville 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 →