Chicago Portage National Historic Site
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
40 acres0.6 mi of trail
Salt Creek Greenway Black Unpaved Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Teemu08 at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Lyons
95% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Lyons
2.0 miles of mapped trail cross Lyons, 0.9 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Chicago Portage National Historic Site (0.6 mi), Veterans Park (0.6 mi). 22 acres are parks and preserves, 2.2 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 53% of U.S. towns · #477 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
17 acres · of 2.2 sq mi of land
Trails
2.0 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
22 ac
2.2 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
95%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.9 mi
2.9 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Lyons?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lyons have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lyons is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns, #477 of 768 in Illinois. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lyons’ overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land2.2 acres of park per 1,000 residents (22 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home95% 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 53%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 38%
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 Chicago Portage National Historic Site, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Ottawa Trail Woods South
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
99 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Cermak Woods
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
60 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 10 parks & preserves
Chicago Portage National Historic Site40 acres · 0.6 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsVeterans Park13 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsOttawa Trail Woods South99 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsOttawa Trail Woods North57 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsStoney Ford Woods32 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsSmith Park4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsCermak Woods60 acres · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsWhite Eagle Woods South32 acres · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsPlank Road Meadow21 acres · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsWhite Eagle Woods North14 acres · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsWho protects it
17 conserved acres
1% of Lyons’ land. Who manages Lyons’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city17 ac
Local Park · 17 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veterans Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Smith Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Indian Gardens Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
13 places to go in Lyons
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Lyons
McDonald's PlayPlace
DirectionsPlus 5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Lyons
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in Lyons
Cermak Woods Picnic Shelter Grove 1In Cermak Woods
DirectionsOttawa Trail Woods Picnic Grove 1In Ottawa Trail Woods South
DirectionsOttawa Trail Woods Picnic Grove 3In Ottawa Trail Woods North
DirectionsOttawa Trail Woods Picnic Shelter Grove 2In Ottawa Trail Woods North
DirectionsWhite Eagle Woods Picnic Shelter Grove 1In White Eagle Woods North
DirectionsWhite Eagle Woods Picnic Shelter Grove 2In White Eagle Woods South
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.6 miUnpaved · 0.7 mi
Salt Creek Greenway Black Unpaved Trail0.6 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.9 mi
off-road bike paths
Salt Creek TrailBike route
0.6 miCourts & fields
3Basketball
3Baseball
2Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Lyons: April, July and 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) | 9.5 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 36 | 47 | 59 | 71 | 80 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 63 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Lyons →
Next door
Lyons and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Lyons Township27 miRiverside Township7.4 miLyons2.0 miStickney Township2.0 miBrookfield1.7 miRiverside1.2 miSummit0.9 miForest View0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lyons | 1% | 0.9 | 2 | 95% | B− |
| Riverside | 5% | 0.6 | 11 | 99%+ | A− |
| Lyons Township | 3% | 0.8 | 7 | 98% | B+ |
| Riverside Township | 9% | 1.8 | 9 | 98% | A |
| Brookfield | 4% | 0.6 | 4 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Summit | 5% | 0.4 | 8 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Forest View | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Stickney Township | 3% | 0.2 | 5 | 99% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Lyons
Where can I hike in Lyons?
The longest trail networks: Chicago Portage National Historic Site, 0.6 miles; Veterans Park, 0.6 miles; Ottawa Trail Woods South, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lyons 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 Lyons’ trails?
Chicago Portage National Historic Site and Veterans Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Lyons?
2.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.9 of off-road paths. Named routes: Salt Creek Trail.
Is there public land near Lyons?
10,162 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lyons or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 22 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Lyons have?
Ahead of 53% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #477 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 Lyons 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 →