Park No. 538
Managed by Chicago Park District
31 acres1.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Lincolnwood
5% of Lincolnwood’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. 2.7 miles of mapped trail cross Lincolnwood, 1.0 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Park No. 538 (1.3 mi), Henry Proesel Park (1.1 mi).
Ahead of 81% of U.S. towns · #189 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
86 acres · of 2.7 sq mi of land
Trails
2.7 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
117 ac
9.0 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.4 mi
0.9 mi lanes · 4.3 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Lincolnwood?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lincolnwood have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lincolnwood is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns, #189 of 768 in Illinois. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lincolnwood’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land9.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (117 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13C+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 81%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 75%
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
The longest trail network is Park No. 538, with 1.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Henry Proesel Park
Managed by Lincolnwood Parks and Recreation
20 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Lincolnwood Centennial Park
Managed by Lincolnwood Parks and Recreation
23 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
M. Lester Flowers Park
Managed by Lincolnwood Parks and Recreation
3 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 11 parks & preserves
Park No. 53831 acres · 1.3 mi of trail · Chicago Park District
DirectionsHenry Proesel Park20 acres · 1.1 mi of trail · Lincolnwood Parks and Recreation
DirectionsLincolnwood Centennial Park23 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Lincolnwood Parks and Recreation
DirectionsM. Lester Flowers Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Lincolnwood Parks and Recreation
Springfield Park3 acres · Lincolnwood Parks and Recreation
DirectionsPohatan Park1 acres · Skokie Park District
G.G. Rowell Park1 acres · Lincolnwood Parks and Recreation
Goebelt Park1 acres · Lincolnwood Parks and Recreation
Central Park1 acres · Lincolnwood Parks and Recreation
DirectionsCharles L. O'Brien Park1 acres · Lincolnwood Parks and Recreation
DirectionsDrake Park1 acres · Lincolnwood Parks and Recreation
DirectionsWho protects it
86 conserved acres
5% of Lincolnwood’s land. Who manages Lincolnwood’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city60 ac
Regional agency25 ac
Local Park · 85 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Park No. 538 Local Park | Town or city | 30 | Open |
| Lincolnwood Centennial Park Local Park | Regional agency | 24 | Open |
| Henry A. Prosel Park Local Park | Town or city | 21 | Open |
| Springfield Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| M. Lester Flowers Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Arthur A. Goebelt Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Polatan Park Local Park | Regional agency | 1 | Open |
| Central Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Charles L O'Brien Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Drake Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
17 places to go in Lincolnwood
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Lincolnwood
15 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Lincolnwood
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Disc golf in Lincolnwood
North Shore Channel Trail DGCIn Lincolnwood Centennial Park · Lincolnwood Parks and Recreation
DirectionsBiking & sports
5.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.9 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
4.3 mi
off-road bike paths
0.1 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
12Tennis
9Basketball
8Baseball
2Pickleball
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Lincolnwood: 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 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 36 | 46 | 58 | 69 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 62 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.5 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Lincolnwood →
Next door
Lincolnwood 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincolnwood | 5% | 1.0 | 9 | 99%+ | A− |
| Skokie | 8% | 1.0 | 5 | 99%+ | A− |
| Niles Township | 7% | 1.4 | 6 | 99%+ | A− |
| Chicago | 8% | 1.1 | 4 | 99% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Lincolnwood
Where can I hike in Lincolnwood?
The longest trail networks: Park No. 538, 1.3 miles; Henry Proesel Park, 1.1 miles; Lincolnwood Centennial Park, 0.1 miles; M. Lester Flowers Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lincolnwood is conserved land?
5% 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 Lincolnwood’s trails?
Park No. 538 and Henry Proesel Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Lincolnwood?
5.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.9 of painted or protected lanes, 4.3 of off-road paths and 0.1 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Lincolnwood?
7,589 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lincolnwood or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 117 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Lincolnwood have?
Ahead of 81% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #189 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 Lincolnwood 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 →