Forest Preserve District of Cook County
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
181 acres3.9 mi of trail
North Branch Yellow Unpaved Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Herbert A. Dilg House · Photo: Zol87 from Chicago, Illinois, USA · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Morton Grove
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Morton Grove
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 11 miles of mapped trail cross Morton Grove, 2.1 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Forest Preserve District of Cook County (3.9 mi), Linne Woods Preserve (2.6 mi), Harrer Park (0.8 mi).
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns · #284 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
69 acres · of 5.1 sq mi of land
Trails
11 mi
2.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
83 ac
3.4 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.8 mi
1.6 mi lanes · 4.1 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Morton Grove?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Morton Grove have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Morton Grove is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #284 of 768 in Illinois. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Morton Grove’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%C+Trails2.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (11 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land3.4 acres of park per 1,000 residents (83 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 72%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 63%
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 Forest Preserve District of Cook County, with 3.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Linne Woods Preserve
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
179 acres2.6 mi of trail
North Branch Yellow Unpaved TrailNorth Branch Tan Unpaved Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Harrer Park
Managed by Morton Grove Park District
24 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Prairie View Park
Managed by Morton Grove Park District
16 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Frank Hren Discovery Park
Managed by Morton Grove Park District
10 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Frank Bobrytzke Forest
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
264 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
National Park
Managed by Morton Grove Park District
6 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 15 parks & preserves
Forest Preserve District of Cook County181 acres · 3.9 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsLinne Woods Preserve179 acres · 2.6 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsHarrer Park24 acres · 0.8 mi of trail · Morton Grove Park District
DirectionsPrairie View Park16 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · Morton Grove Park District
DirectionsFrank Hren Discovery Park10 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Morton Grove Park District
DirectionsFrank Bobrytzke Forest264 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsNational Park6 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Morton Grove Park District
DirectionsAustin Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Morton Grove Park District
Oriole Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Morton Grove Park District
DirectionsPalma Lane Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Morton Grove Park District
Wayside Woods Preserve22 acres · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsMansfield Park4 acres · Morton Grove Park District
Oketo Park3 acres · Morton Grove Park District
Shermer Park1 acres · Morton Grove Park District
Jacobs Park1 acres · Morton Grove Park District
Who protects it
69 conserved acres
2% of Morton Grove’s land. Who manages Morton Grove’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency60 ac
Town or city8 ac
State conservation1 ac
Local Park · 68 acConservation Easement · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harrer Park Local Park | Regional agency | 21 | Open |
| Prairie View Park Local Park | Regional agency | 15 | Open |
| Cardinal Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| National Park Local Park | Regional agency | 6 | Open |
| Mansfield Park Local Park | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
| Austin Park Local Park | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
| Oriole Park Local Park | Regional agency | 3 | Open |
| Oketo Park Local Park | Regional agency | 3 | Open |
| Palma Lane Park Local Park | Regional agency | 2 | Open |
| Overhill Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
19 places to go in Morton Grove
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Morton Grove
10 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Morton Grove
Linne Woods Canoe LandingIn Linne Woods Preserve
DirectionsPicnic areas in Morton Grove
Linne Woods Picnic Shelter Grove 1In Linne Woods Preserve
DirectionsLinne Woods Picnic Shelter Grove 2In Linne Woods Preserve
DirectionsMiami Woods Picnic Shelter Grove 1In Frank Bobrytzke Forest
DirectionsSt. Paul Woods Picnic Shelter Grove 1In Frank Bobrytzke Forest
DirectionsSt. Paul Woods Picnic Shelter Grove 2In Frank Bobrytzke Forest
DirectionsSt. Paul Woods Picnic Shelter Grove 3In Frank Bobrytzke Forest
DirectionsSt. Paul Woods Picnic Shelter Grove 4In Frank Bobrytzke Forest
DirectionsWayside Woods Picnic Shelter Grove 1In Wayside Woods Preserve
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.6 miHorses · 2.6 miUnpaved · 3.8 mi
North Branch Yellow Unpaved Trail1.9 mi
North Branch Tan Unpaved Trail0.8 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
5.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.6 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
4.1 mi
off-road bike paths
North Branch Yellow Unpaved TrailBike route
1.9 miNorth Branch Tan Unpaved TrailBike route
0.8 miCourts & fields
11Basketball
9Tennis
7Baseball
5Soccer
2Beach volleyball
2Softball
1Volleyball
1Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Herbert A. Dilg HouseBuilding · listed 2009
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Morton Grove: July to 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 | 46 | 58 | 69 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 62 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 2.5 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Morton Grove →
Next door
Morton Grove and its neighbors
Morton Grove has the second most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Morton Grove
Where can I hike in Morton Grove?
The longest trail networks: Forest Preserve District of Cook County, 3.9 miles; Linne Woods Preserve, 2.6 miles; Harrer Park, 0.8 miles; Prairie View Park, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Morton Grove 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 Morton Grove’s trails?
Forest Preserve District of Cook County and Linne Woods Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Morton Grove?
5.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.6 of painted or protected lanes and 4.1 of off-road paths. Named routes: North Branch Yellow Unpaved Trail and North Branch Tan Unpaved Trail.
Is there public land near Morton Grove?
9,130 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Morton Grove or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 83 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Morton Grove have?
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #284 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 Morton Grove 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 →