Red Oak Nature Center
Managed by Fox Valley Park District
37 acres1.4 mi of trail
Bubo TrailBig Turtle TrailDolomite Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: AlphaBeta135 · CC BY 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in North Aurora
5% of North Aurora’s land is conserved, and 99% of residents live within a half mile of a park
The biggest trail networks: Red Oak Nature Center (1.4 mi). 5% of North Aurora’s land is conserved, about 249 acres. 305 acres are parks and preserves, 16 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns · #251 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
249 acres · of 7.6 sq mi of land
Trails
2.9 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
305 ac
16 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
9.9 mi
9.9 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
4
What kind of outdoors town is North Aurora?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does North Aurora have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, North Aurora is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns, #251 of 768 in Illinois. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of North Aurora’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land16 acres of park per 1,000 residents (305 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13BParks close to home99% 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 76%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 67%
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 Red Oak Nature Center, with 1.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Fearn Park
Managed by Fox Valley Park District
30 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Fearn Parking lot
Lippold Park
Managed by Fox Valley Park District
36 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Tanner Trails Park
Park
20 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 21 parks & preserves
Red Oak Nature Center37 acres · 1.4 mi of trail · Fox Valley Park District
DirectionsFearn Park30 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Fox Valley Park District
DirectionsLippold Park36 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Fox Valley Park District
DirectionsBennett Park14 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Batavia Park District
Highland Park11 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Fox Valley Park District
DirectionsGoodwin Park7 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Fox Valley Park District
DirectionsErickson Park5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Fox Valley Park District
DirectionsTanner Trails Park20 acres
Dick Young Forest Preserve17 acres · Forest Preserve District of Kane County
Chesterfield Park11 acres · Fox Valley Park District
North Aurora Island Park9 acres · Fox Valley Park District
DirectionsWillow Lake Park9 acres · Fox Valley Park District
Pine Creek Park9 acres · Fox Valley Park District
Schneider Park8 acres · Fox Valley Park District
DirectionsMoose Lake Park7 acres · Fox Valley Park District
Wingfoot Park7 acres · Fox Valley Park District
Hartfield Park6 acres · Batavia Park District
Lake Run Forest Preserve5 acres · Forest Preserve District of Kane County
Remington Landing Park4 acres · Fox Valley Park District
North Aurora Riverfront Park3 acres · Fox Valley Park District
DirectionsJones Meadow Park3 acres · Batavia Park District
Who protects it
249 conserved acres
5% of North Aurora’s land. Who manages North Aurora’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency219 ac
Town or city82 ac
Local Park · 219 acUnknown · 82 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Aurora Island Park Local Park | Regional agency | 71 | Open |
| Fox River Trail Unknown | Town or city | 39 | Open |
| Unnamed Property Unknown | Town or city | 39 | Open |
| Lippold Park Local Park | Regional agency | 34 | Open |
| Chesterfield Park Local Park | Regional agency | 11 | Open |
| Fearn Park Local Park | Regional agency | 11 | Open |
| Tanner Trails Park Local Park | Regional agency | 11 | Open |
| Highland Park Local Park | Regional agency | 10 | Open |
| Willow Lake Park Local Park | Regional agency | 9 | Open |
| Schneider Park Local Park | Regional agency | 9 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
27 places to go in North Aurora
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in North Aurora
Bennett Park PlaygroundIn Bennett Park
DirectionsGoodwin playgroundIn Goodwin Park
DirectionsHighland Park playgroundIn Highland Park
DirectionsNature NookIn Red Oak Nature Center
DirectionsPlus 20 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in North Aurora
3 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.9 mi
Bubo Trail0.3 mi
Big Turtle Trail0.2 mi
Dolomite Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
9.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
9.9 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
10Basketball
10Baseball
3Pickleball
2Beach volleyball
1Football
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in North Aurora: 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 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 35 | 47 | 60 | 71 | 81 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 63 | 48 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 1.8 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 3.8 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 2.6 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.8 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in North Aurora →
Next door
North Aurora and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Aurora36 miBlackberry Township32 miAurora Township27 miBatavia Township17 miSugar Grove Township13 miBatavia8.0 miNorth Aurora2.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Aurora | 5% | 0.4 | 16 | 99% | A− |
| Aurora | 10% | 0.8 | 17 | 99% | A |
| Batavia | 5% | 0.7 | 11 | 99%+ | A− |
| Sugar Grove Township | 13% | 0.4 | 99 | 95% | A |
| Batavia Township | 7% | 0.9 | 18 | 98% | A |
| Aurora Township | 7% | 0.8 | 14 | 97% | A− |
| Blackberry Township | 13% | 0.9 | 91 | 88% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in North Aurora
Where can I hike in North Aurora?
The longest trail networks: Red Oak Nature Center, 1.4 miles; Fearn Park, 0.4 miles; Lippold Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of North Aurora is conserved land?
5% 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 North Aurora’s trails?
Red Oak Nature Center and Fearn Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in North Aurora?
9.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 9.9 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near North Aurora?
21,462 acres of parks and open public land lie inside North Aurora or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 337 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does North Aurora have?
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #251 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 North Aurora 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 →