Sun Lake Forest Preserve
Managed by Lake County Forest Preserves
513 acres3.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Lake Villa
18% of Lake Villa’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 18% of Lake Villa’s land is conserved, about 757 acres. 358 acres are parks and preserves, 41 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns · #28 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
18%
757 acres · of 6.5 sq mi of land
Trails
5.1 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
358 ac
41 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.3 mi
2.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
4
What kind of outdoors town is Lake Villa?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lake Villa have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lake Villa is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #28 of 768 in Illinois. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lake Villa’s overall grade.
Conserved land18% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land41 acres of park per 1,000 residents (358 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · IL 88% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 95%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 96%
Water is 11% of Lake Villa’s area (1 of 7 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 16%.
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 Sun Lake Forest Preserve, with 3.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lake Villa Township Ball Park
Park
13 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Grant Woods Forest Preserve
Managed by Lake County Forest Preserves
254 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 5 parks & preserves
Sun Lake Forest Preserve513 acres · 3.3 mi of trail · Lake County Forest Preserves
DirectionsFrank M Loffredo Park59 acres · 1 mi of trail
DirectionsLake Villa Township Ball Park13 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsGrant Woods Forest Preserve254 acres · Lake County Forest Preserves
DirectionsLake Villa Park54 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
757 conserved acres
18% of Lake Villa’s land. Water is left out: Lake Villa has 6.5 square miles of land and 0.8 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Lake Villa’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency513 ac
State conservation509 ac
Town or city243 ac
Local Conservation Area · 513 acConservation Easement · 509 acLocal Park · 151 acState Conservation Area · 92 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun Lake Forest Preserve Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 513 | Open |
| Windance Acres Marsh State Conservation Area | Town or city | 92 | Open |
| Frank M Loffredo Park Local Park | Town or city | 60 | Open |
| Dering Park Local Park | Town or city | 39 | Open |
| Lake Villa Baseball Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Painted Lakes Tot Lot Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Savanna Springs Tot Lot Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Steven Sherwood Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Lehmann Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Glacier Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
10 places to go in Lake Villa
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Lake Villa
10 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
4 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
21Tennis
9Baseball
8Soccer
1Pickleball
1Basketball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Lake Villa: 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) | 30 | 34 | 45 | 57 | 69 | 78 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 61 | 47 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 1.8 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 2.4 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Lake Villa →
Next door
Lake Villa and its neighbors
Lake Villa has the second most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Lake Villa Township13 miLake Villa5.1 miRound Lake Beach3.2 miLindenhurst3.0 miFox Lake Hills1.0 miVenetian Village0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Villa | 18% | 0.8 | 41 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Venetian Village | 44% | under 0.1 | 162 | 99%+ | A− |
| Round Lake Beach | 17% | 0.6 | 19 | 99%+ | A |
| Lindenhurst | 16% | 0.7 | 25 | 99%+ | A |
| Fox Lake Hills | 4% | 0.8 | 15 | 99%+ | A− |
| Lake Villa Township | 21% | 0.6 | 55 | 99% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Lake Villa
Where can I hike in Lake Villa?
The longest trail networks: Sun Lake Forest Preserve, 3.3 miles; Frank M Loffredo Park, 1 miles; Lake Villa Township Ball Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lake Villa is conserved land?
18% 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 Villa’s trails?
Sun Lake Forest Preserve and Frank M Loffredo Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Lake Villa?
2.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Lake Villa?
27,523 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lake Villa or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 358 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Lake Villa have?
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #28 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 Villa 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 →