Independence Park
Nature preserve
46 acres0.4 mi of trail
Independence Park - Trail 5
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: NatFee · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Marquette Heights
7% of Marquette Heights’ 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. 1.2 miles of mapped trail cross Marquette Heights, 1.2 per square mile of land. 7% of Marquette Heights’ land is conserved, about 45 acres.
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
45 acres · of 1.0 sq mi of land
Trails
1.2 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
22 ac
8.7 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Marquette Heights?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Marquette Heights have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Marquette Heights is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns. 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 Marquette Heights’ overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land8.7 acres of park per 1,000 residents (22 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 86%
LessMore
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 Independence Park, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Everett McKinley Dirksen Park
Nature preserve
20 acres0.3 mi of trail
Rollercoasters
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Marquette Heights Park
Managed by City of Marquette Heights
9 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
45 conserved acres
7% of Marquette Heights’ land. Who manages Marquette Heights’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency23 ac
State conservation22 ac
Town or city21 ac
Local Park · 43 acConservation Easement · 22 acState Conservation Area · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dirksen Park Local Park | Regional agency | 23 | Open |
| Marquette Heights Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Independence Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Tennis Court Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Highline Playground Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Main Street Playground State Conservation Area | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Marquette Heights
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Marquette Heights
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Disc golf in Marquette Heights
Marquette Heights Disc Golf Course
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.2 mi
Independence Park - Trail 50.4 mi
Chickenhawk0.4 mi
Rollercoasters0.2 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
5Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Marquette Heights
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 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 38 | 51 | 64 | 74 | 83 | 86 | 84 | 79 | 66 | 51 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.9 | 2.5 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 2.7 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Marquette Heights →
Next door
Marquette Heights and its neighbors
Marquette Heights has the second most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marquette Heights | 7% | 1.2 | 9 | 99%+ | A |
| North Pekin | 2% | 0.9 | 12 | 99%+ | A− |
| Creve Coeur | 4% | under 0.1 | 35 | 86% | B |
| Pekin | 20% | 1.6 | 38 | 79% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Marquette Heights
Where can I hike in Marquette Heights?
The longest trail networks: Independence Park, 0.4 miles; Everett McKinley Dirksen Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Marquette Heights is conserved land?
7% 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 Marquette Heights’ trails?
Independence Park and Everett McKinley Dirksen Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Marquette Heights?
10,239 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Marquette Heights or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 22 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Marquette Heights have?
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Marquette Heights 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 →