Thatcher Woods Preserve
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
31 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Dennisyerger84 · CC BY-SA 4.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Melrose Park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Melrose Park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 54 acres are parks and preserves, 2.2 per 1,000 residents. 2% of Melrose Park’s land is conserved, about 48 acres.
Ahead of 42% of U.S. towns · #570 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
48 acres · of 4.4 sq mi of land
Trails
0.5 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
54 ac
2.2 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.7 mi
0.3 mi lanes · 3.4 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Melrose Park?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Melrose Park have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Melrose Park is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns, #570 of 768 in Illinois. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Melrose Park’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4CPark land2.2 acres of park per 1,000 residents (54 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 42%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 26%
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.
Bataan Park
Managed by Veterans Park District
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Eisenhower Park
Park
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
Silver Creek Eagle Nest Park2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsThatcher Woods Preserve31 acres · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsBulger Park6 acres
DirectionsBataan Park4 acres · Veterans Park District
DirectionsEisenhower Park3 acres
Sharp Park2 acres · Memorial Park District
Frost Park2 acres
Who protects it
48 conserved acres
2% of Melrose Park’s land. Who manages Melrose Park’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city30 ac
Regional agency17 ac
Local Park · 46 acLocal Recreation Area · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kiddieland Park Local Park | Town or city | 29 | Open |
| Bulger Park Local Park | Regional agency | 7 | Open |
| Bataan Park Local Park | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
| Sharp Park Local Park | Regional agency | 3 | Open |
| George A. Leoni Complex Local Park | Regional agency | 2 | Open |
| Frost Park Local Park | Regional agency | 2 | Open |
| Michael Cimbalo Fitness Center and Museum Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in Melrose Park
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Melrose Park
Winston Plaza Play Area
DirectionsPlus 4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Melrose Park
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Melrose Park
Silver Creek Family Picnic AreaHours: sunrise-sunset · In Thatcher Woods Preserve
DirectionsBiking & sports
3.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
3.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
8Baseball
7Tennis
2Soccer
2Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Melrose Park: 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) | 9.4 | 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 | 47 | 59 | 71 | 80 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 63 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 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 Melrose Park →
Next door
Melrose Park and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
River Forest7.1 miRiver Forest Township7.1 miRiver Grove3.9 miNorthlake1.8 miMaywood0.6 miMelrose Park0.5 miFranklin Park0.5 miBellwood0.5 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melrose Park | 2% | 0.1 | 2 | 99%+ | C+ |
| Northlake | 3% | 0.6 | 6 | 99%+ | B+ |
| River Grove | under 1% | 1.6 | 1 | 79% | C+ |
| Franklin Park | 1% | 0.1 | 2 | 99%+ | C+ |
| Maywood | 2% | 0.2 | 2 | 99%+ | B− |
| Bellwood | 2% | 0.2 | 2 | 99%+ | B− |
| River Forest | 2% | 2.9 | 5 | 99%+ | A− |
| River Forest Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Melrose Park
How much of Melrose Park is conserved land?
2% 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 Melrose Park’s trails?
Thatcher Woods Preserve and Bulger Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Melrose Park?
3.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of painted or protected lanes and 3.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Melrose Park?
11,496 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Melrose Park or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 54 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Melrose Park have?
Ahead of 42% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #570 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 Melrose Park 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 →