Grassy Lake Forest Preserve
Managed by Lake County Forest Preserves
346 acres
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Lake Barrington
Lake Barrington has 191 acres of parks, 35 for every 1,000 residents
9% of Lake Barrington’s land is conserved, about 326 acres. 1.1 miles of mapped trail cross Lake Barrington, 0.2 per square mile of land. 67% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 67% of U.S. towns · #334 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
326 acres · of 5.7 sq mi of land
Trails
1.1 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
191 ac
35 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
67%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.6 mi
3.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
4
1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lake Barrington have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lake Barrington is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns, #334 of 768 in Illinois. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lake Barrington’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land35 acres of park per 1,000 residents (191 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home67% 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 67%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 57%
Water is 5% of Lake Barrington’s area (0 of 6 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 8%.
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Fox River Forest Preserve
Managed by Lake County Forest Preserves
206 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
326 conserved acres
9% of Lake Barrington’s land. Water is left out: Lake Barrington has 5.7 square miles of land and 0.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Lake Barrington’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits221 ac
State conservation126 ac
Town or city104 ac
Regional agency14 ac
Local Conservation Area · 221 acConservation Easement · 138 acOther Easement · 73 acLocal Park · 25 acLocal Resource Management Area · 9 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 72 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citizens For Conservation Open Space Local Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 221 | Open |
| Freier Farm Local Park | Town or city | 25 | Open |
| Fox River 4 Local Resource Management Area | Regional agency | 9 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Lake Barrington
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Lake Barrington
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Lake Barrington
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Lake Barrington
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Trails & water
4 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
3.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
10Tennis
6Pickleball
2Basketball
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Lake Barrington
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 | 15.2 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 34 | 46 | 58 | 70 | 79 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 62 | 47 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 1.8 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Lake Barrington →
Next door
Lake Barrington and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Barrington Hills61 miNorth Barrington6.6 miPort Barrington1.3 miLake Barrington1.1 miWauconda0.7 miTower Lakes0.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Barrington | 9% | 0.2 | 35 | 67% | B+ |
| North Barrington | 3% | 1.4 | 22 | 67% | B+ |
| Tower Lakes | 12% | 0.1 | 23 | 92% | B+ |
| Port Barrington | 7% | 1.1 | 27 | 99% | A |
| Barrington Hills | 8% | 2.3 | 282 | 36% | A |
| Wauconda | 8% | 0.1 | 10 | 84% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Lake Barrington
How much of Lake Barrington is conserved land?
9% 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 Lake Barrington’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Grassy Lake Forest Preserve (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Lake Barrington?
3.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Lake Barrington?
22,082 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lake Barrington or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 191 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Lake Barrington have?
Ahead of 67% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #334 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 Lake Barrington 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 →