Gensburg - Markham Prairie Nature Preserve
Managed by The Nature Conservancy
132 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dogs usually not allowed
Directionsto the parking lot
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Markham
14% of Markham’s land is conserved, and 95% of residents live within a half mile of a park
14% of Markham’s land is conserved, about 484 acres. The biggest trail networks: Gensburg - Markham Prairie Nature Preserve (1.2 mi), Paintbrush Prairie Nature Preserve (1.1 mi), Roesner Park (0.5 mi). 385 acres are parks and preserves, 34 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns · #75 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
14%
484 acres · of 5.4 sq mi of land
Trails
3.8 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
385 ac
34 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
95%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Markham?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Markham have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Markham is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #75 of 768 in Illinois. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Markham’s overall grade.
Conserved land14% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land34 acres of park per 1,000 residents (385 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B+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 91%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 90%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 Gensburg - Markham Prairie Nature Preserve, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Paintbrush Prairie Nature Preserve
Managed by The Nature Conservancy
74 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dogs usually not allowed
No trailhead mapped yet
Indian Boundary Prairies
Managed by The Nature Conservancy
366 acres
Dogs usually not allowed
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 14 parks & preserves
Gensburg - Markham Prairie Nature Preserve132 acres · 1.2 mi of trail · The Nature Conservancy
DirectionsPaintbrush Prairie Nature Preserve74 acres · 1.1 mi of trail · The Nature Conservancy
Roesner Park14 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsCountry Aire Park7 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsIndian Boundary Prairies366 acres · The Nature Conservancy
Sundrop Prairie Nature Preserve110 acres · The Nature Conservancy
DirectionsDropseed Prairie Nature Preserve9 acres · The Nature Conservancy
Martin Luther King Park9 acres · Markham Park District
Markham Park4 acres
DirectionsOak Forest Heritage Preserve3 acres · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsMarkham Boys League Baseball Fields3 acres
Lone Pine Park3 acres · Markham Park District
McNeil Park3 acres
Dresser Park2 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
484 conserved acres
14% of Markham’s land. Who manages Markham’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation367 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits354 ac
Regional agency45 ac
Town or city4 ac
Conservation Easement · 401 acPrivate Conservation · 315 acLocal Park · 44 acUnknown · 8 acState Conservation Area · 2 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 118 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 25 of 63 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indian Boundary Prairies Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 315 | Unknown |
| Roesner Park Local Park | Regional agency | 17 | Open |
| Martin Luther King Park Local Park | Regional agency | 10 | Open |
| Dresser Park Local Park | Regional agency | 5 | Open |
| Prairie Outlots Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 4 | Open |
| Unnamed Property Unknown | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Mcneil Park Local Park | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
| Country Aire Park Local Park | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
| Markham Memorial Park Local Park | Regional agency | 3 | Open |
| Oak Forest Heritage Preserve State Conservation Area | Regional agency | 1 | Closed |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
5 places to go in Markham
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Markham
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
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
5Basketball
4Baseball
3Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Markham: April 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 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 36 | 48 | 60 | 71 | 81 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 63 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 2.7 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.4 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Markham →
Next door
Markham and its neighbors
Markham has the second most mapped trails of the 7 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Midlothian4.3 miMarkham3.8 miHazel Crest2.1 miOak Forest1.6 miHarvey1.5 miCountry Club Hills1.2 miPosen0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Markham | 14% | 0.7 | 34 | 95% | A |
| Harvey | 2% | 0.2 | 4 | 99% | B− |
| Oak Forest | 2% | 0.3 | 6 | 99%+ | B |
| Hazel Crest | 6% | 0.6 | 11 | 99%+ | A− |
| Midlothian | 14% | 1.5 | 4 | 99% | A− |
| Country Club Hills | 4% | 0.2 | 11 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Posen | 2% | under 0.1 | 3 | 99%+ | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Markham
Where can I hike in Markham?
The longest trail networks: Gensburg - Markham Prairie Nature Preserve, 1.2 miles; Paintbrush Prairie Nature Preserve, 1.1 miles; Roesner Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Markham is conserved land?
14% 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 Markham’s trails?
Gensburg - Markham Prairie Nature Preserve and Paintbrush Prairie Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Markham?
11,347 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Markham or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 389 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Markham have?
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #75 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 Markham 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 →