Mendota has 234 acres of parks, 33 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Mendota Lake Park (1.3 mi). 88% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2.8 miles of mapped trail cross Mendota, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 75% of U.S. towns · #256 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Mendota?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Mendota have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Mendota is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns, #256 of 768 in Illinois. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, conserved land lowest.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Mendota Lake Park, with 1.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Blackstone Park
Veterans Park
113 conserved acres
3% of Mendota’s land. Who manages Mendota’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Mendota Park & Sports Complex Local Park | Town or city | 99 | Open |
| Kakusha Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Blackstone Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Apple Orchard Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
5 places to go in Mendota
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 lakes & rivers
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
The best walking months in Mendota: 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) | 30 | 35 | 47 | 61 | 72 | 81 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 63 | 48 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 1.8 | 1.7 | 2.4 | 3.6 | 4.7 | 4.8 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.8 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Mendota →
Mendota and its neighbors
Mendota has the most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mendota | 3% | 0.5 | 33 | 88% | A− |
| Mendota Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Meriden 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 Mendota
Where can I hike in Mendota?
The longest trail networks: Mendota Lake Park, 1.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Mendota is conserved land?
3% 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 Mendota’s trails?
Mendota Lake Park and Strouss Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Mendota?
256 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Mendota or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 234 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Mendota have?
Ahead of 75% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #256 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 Mendota neighbors.
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 →