Williamson County Fairgrounds
Park
53 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Ed. M. Stotlar House · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainB−Outdoors
Outdoors in Marion
Marion has 6.6 miles of mapped trails, 0.5 for every square mile of land
77% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 194 acres are parks and preserves, 12 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns · #523 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
57 acres · of 14.4 sq mi of land
Trails
6.6 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
194 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
77%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.5 mi
2.5 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Marion have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Marion is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns, #523 of 768 in Illinois. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Marion’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (194 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home77% 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 47%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 32%
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Harry Crisp Sports Complex
Managed by The City of Marion
37 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 9 parks & preserves
Ray Fosse Park23 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsAshley Park9 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsWilliamson County Fairgrounds53 acres
Harry Crisp Sports Complex37 acres · The City of Marion
DirectionsPyramid Park32 acres
DirectionsMarion Soccer Fields26 acres
DirectionsRussell Street Park5 acres
DirectionsEdwards Field4 acres
John W. Jones Park1 acres
Who protects it
57 conserved acres
1% of Marion’s land. Who manages Marion’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency55 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service3 ac
Local Park · 42 acLocal Recreation Area · 13 acNational Wildlife Refuge · 3 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pyramid Park Local Park | Regional agency | 32 | Open |
| Ray Fosse Park Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 13 | Open |
| Russell Street Park Local Park | Regional agency | 6 | Open |
| Ashley Park Local Park | Regional agency | 3 | Open |
| Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 3 | Restricted |
| John W Honew Park Local Park | Regional agency | 1 | Open |
Things to do
25 places to go in Marion
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Marion
2 public pools without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Marion
22 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks in Marion
The Bark ParkIn Russell Street Park
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
14Soccer
12Tennis
12Baseball
10Basketball
1Football
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The walking year in Marion
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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 41 | 46 | 56 | 68 | 77 | 85 | 88 | 87 | 81 | 70 | 56 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 3.2 | 4.5 | 5.5 | 5.1 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 3.6 |
February is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 5.5 inches fall in April, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Marion →
Questions about parks and trails in Marion
How much of Marion 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 Marion’s trails?
Williamson County Fairgrounds and Harry Crisp Sports Complex don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Marion?
2.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Marion?
83,580 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Marion or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 194 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Marion have?
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #523 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 Marion 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 →