Scully Park
Park
2 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Katherine Johnson from Springfield, IL · CC BY 2.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Lincoln
Lincoln has 90 acres of parks, 6.8 for every 1,000 residents
84% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2% of Lincoln’s land is conserved, about 78 acres. 1.2 miles of mapped trail cross Lincoln, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 42% of U.S. towns · #571 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
78 acres · of 6.3 sq mi of land
Trails
1.2 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
90 ac
6.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
84%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Lincoln?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lincoln have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lincoln is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns, #571 of 768 in Illinois. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lincoln’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land6.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (90 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home84% 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 42%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 26%
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 Scully Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Memorial Gardens
Park
4 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Maywood Park
Park
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 12 parks & preserves
Scully Park2 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Logan Courthouse Square Historic District2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsMemorial Park49 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsMemorial Gardens4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Maywood Park4 acres
Latham Park2 acres
DirectionsLehn & Fink Park2 acres
Ray White Park2 acres
Historic Postville Courthouse Park2 acres
Melrose Park2 acres
Exchange Club Park1 acres
Postville Park1 acres
Who protects it
78 conserved acres
2% of Lincoln’s land. Who manages Lincoln’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency73 ac
Town or city5 ac
Local Park · 78 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Memorial Park Local Park | Regional agency | 43 | Open |
| Lincoln Park District Local Park | Regional agency | 19 | Open |
| Mayfair Park Local Park | Regional agency | 3 | Open |
| Lehn & Fink Park Local Park | Regional agency | 3 | Open |
| Latham Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Scully Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Melrose Park Local Park | Regional agency | 2 | Open |
| Postville Park Local Park | Regional agency | 1 | Open |
| Exchange Club Park Local Park | Regional agency | 1 | Open |
Things to do
13 places to go in Lincoln
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Lincoln
Fire Department Playground at Scully parkIn Scully Park
DirectionsPlus 12 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Baseball Diamond Sidewalk0.1 mi
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
16Baseball
4Tracks
2Soccer
2Football
1Tennis
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
University HallBuilding · listed 1973
About itLincoln Public LibraryBuilding · listed 1980
About itStephan A. Foley HouseBuilding · listed 1984
About itLincoln Courthouse Square Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1985
About itAllen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal ChurchBuilding · listed 2004
About itHoblit HouseBuilding · listed 2007
About itWhen to get out
August is the best month for walking in Lincoln
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 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 14.8 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 40 | 52 | 65 | 75 | 83 | 86 | 85 | 79 | 66 | 52 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.5 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Lincoln →
Next door
Lincoln 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln | 2% | 0.2 | 7 | 84% | C+ |
| West Lincoln Township | 1% | 0.1 | 9 | 85% | C+ |
| Broadwell Township | 5% | 0.3 | 313 | 87% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Lincoln
Where can I hike in Lincoln?
The longest trail networks: Scully Park, 0.3 miles; Memorial Park, 0.1 miles; Memorial Gardens, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lincoln is conserved land?
2% 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 Lincoln’s trails?
Scully Park and Memorial Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Lincoln?
1,184 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lincoln or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 90 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Lincoln have?
Ahead of 42% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #571 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 Lincoln 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 →