Grassy Lake Forest Preserve
Managed by Lake County Forest Preserves
219 acres
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in North Barrington
North Barrington has 6.6 miles of mapped trails, 1.4 for every square mile of land
68 acres are parks and preserves, 22 per 1,000 residents. 67% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3% of North Barrington’s land is conserved, about 81 acres.
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns · #289 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
81 acres · of 4.7 sq mi of land
Trails
6.6 mi
1.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
68 ac
22 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
67%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.1 mi
0.7 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is North Barrington?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does North Barrington have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, North Barrington is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns, #289 of 768 in Illinois. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of North Barrington’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B−Trails1.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land22 acres of park per 1,000 residents (68 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home67% of residents within a half mile of a park · IL 88% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 71%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 62%
Water is 5% of North Barrington’s area (0 of 5 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 3%.
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
81 conserved acres
3% of North Barrington’s land. Water is left out: North Barrington has 4.7 square miles of land and 0.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages North Barrington’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city67 ac
Regional agency10 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits4 ac
Local Park · 67 acConservation Easement · 13 acLocal Conservation Area · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 13 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Haverton Conservation Area Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Eton Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Lafferty Park Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| North Barrington Village Hall Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Village Wildlife Refuge Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Leonard Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Citizens For Conservation Open Space Local Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in North Barrington
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in North Barrington
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in North Barrington
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.7 mi
off-road bike paths
1.4 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
13Tennis
7Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in North Barrington
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 | 14.6 | 15.2 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 34 | 46 | 58 | 70 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 62 | 47 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 1.8 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in North Barrington →
Next door
North Barrington and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Ela Township25 miCuba Township11 miNorth Barrington6.6 miLake Zurich5.9 miLake Barrington1.1 miDeer Park0.6 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Barrington | 3% | 1.4 | 22 | 67% | B+ |
| Lake Barrington | 9% | 0.2 | 35 | 67% | B+ |
| Lake Zurich | 7% | 0.9 | 18 | 99%+ | A |
| Deer Park | 20% | 0.2 | 41 | 99%+ | A |
| Cuba Township | 9% | 0.5 | 31 | 72% | A− |
| Ela Township | 8% | 0.7 | 23 | 93% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in North Barrington
How much of North Barrington 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 North Barrington’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Grassy Lake Forest Preserve (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in North Barrington?
2.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.7 of off-road paths and 1.4 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near North Barrington?
22,150 acres of parks and open public land lie inside North Barrington or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 68 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does North Barrington have?
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #289 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 Barrington 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 →