West Park
Managed by Lake Bluff Park District
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: AlphaBeta135 · CC BY 4.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Knollwood
96% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Knollwood
5 acres are parks and preserves, 2.8 per 1,000 residents. 1% of Knollwood’s land is conserved, about 5 acres.
Ahead of 26% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
5 acres · of 0.6 sq mi of land
Trails
0.0 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
5 ac
2.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
96%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Knollwood?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Knollwood have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Knollwood is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Knollwood’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4DPark land2.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (5 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13C−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 26%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Knollwood Park
Managed by Lake Bluff Park District
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
5 conserved acres
1% of Knollwood’s land. Who manages Knollwood’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency5 ac
Local Park · 5 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| West School Park Local Park | Regional agency | 3 | Open |
| Knollwood Park Local Park | Regional agency | 2 | Open |
When to get out
The best walking months in Knollwood: July to 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 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 35 | 45 | 56 | 68 | 78 | 82 | 81 | 74 | 61 | 48 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 1.9 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 2.5 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Knollwood →
Next door
Knollwood and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knollwood | 1% | under 0.1 | 3 | 96% | C |
| Lake Bluff | 26% | 1.4 | 81 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Green Oaks | 8% | 0.5 | 39 | 87% | A− |
| Shields Township | 14% | 1.5 | 25 | 99% | A |
| Libertyville Township | 25% | 0.5 | 55 | 97% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Knollwood
How much of Knollwood is conserved land?
1% 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 Knollwood’s trails?
West Park and Knollwood Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Knollwood?
15,554 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Knollwood or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 5 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Knollwood have?
Ahead of 26% 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 Knollwood 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 →