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Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science,Photo: Jefe317 · CC BY-SA 3.0
AOutdoors
Outdoors in North Chicago

9% of North Chicago’s land is conserved, and 99% of residents live within a half mile of a park

7.4 miles of mapped trail cross North Chicago, 0.9 per square mile of land. 9% of North Chicago’s land is conserved, about 445 acres. 604 acres are parks and preserves, 20 per 1,000 residents.

Ahead of 89% of U.S. towns · #88 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Conserved land
9%
445 acres · of 8.0 sq mi of land
Trails
7.4 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
604 ac
20 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.6 mi
5.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
6 beaches · 1 boat launch

What kind of outdoors town is North Chicago?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Parks close to home99% of residents live within a half mile of a park.A trail town0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 79% of U.S. towns.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does North Chicago have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, North Chicago is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns, #88 of 768 in Illinois. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.

A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of North Chicago’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land20 acres of park per 1,000 residents (604 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 89%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 89%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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.

1234
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 Guardian Park, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Guardian Park

Park
16 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet

Greenbelt Forest Preserve

Managed by Lake County Forest Preserves
277 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Foss Park

Managed by Waukegan Park District
40 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Vision Park

Park
27 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 8 parks & preserves
Guardian Park16 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Greenbelt Forest Preserve277 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Lake County Forest Preserves
Directions
Foss Park40 acres · Waukegan Park District
Directions
Vision Park27 acres
Constitution Park15 acres
Directions
Coles Park15 acres
Hamlet Park7 acres
Directions
Boak Park2 acres
Who protects it

445 conserved acres

9% of North Chicago’s land. Who manages North Chicago’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

Regional agency349 ac
Private owners60 ac
Town or city36 ac
Local Conservation Area · 299 acLocal Park · 138 acConservation Easement · 8 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 8 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Greenbelt Forest Preserve
Local Conservation Area
Regional agency262Open
Northshore Gardens Of Memory (God'S Acre)
Local Park
Private owners60Open
Foss Park
Local Park
Regional agency43Open
City Of North Chicago Open Space
Local Conservation Area
Town or city36Open
Vision Park
Local Park
Regional agency18Open
Mcclory Trail
Local Park
Regional agency10Open
Boak Park
Local Park
Regional agency2Open
Cole Park
Local Park
Regional agency2Open
Angel Park
Local Park
Regional agency2Open
Unknown Park
Local Park
Regional agency1Open
Things to do

21 places to go in North Chicago

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Boat launches in North Chicago
Ramp 748
Directions
Trails & water

1 lakes & rivers

Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Pulaski Lakelake
Biking & sports

5.6 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

5.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
11Baseball
8Tennis
7Basketball
4Soccer
1Football

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

3 places on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.

History →
Dewey HouseBuilding · listed 1985
About it
Great Lakes Naval Training StationDistrict · listed 1986
About it
Holy Family ChurchBuilding · listed 2003
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in North Chicago: 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.410.511.813.314.615.315.013.912.411.09.79.1
High (°F)313544556677828073614836
Rain (in)1.91.72.23.84.24.43.63.73.43.32.52.0

February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in North Chicago →

Next door

North Chicago and its neighbors

Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Shields Township26 miLibertyville Township17 miWaukegan Township11 miNorth Chicago7.4 miWaukegan6.1 miLake Bluff5.8 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
North Chicago9%0.92099%A
Shields Township14%1.52599%A
Waukegan Township— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Lake Bluff26%1.48199%+A+
Waukegan16%0.31899%A−
Libertyville Township25%0.55597%A

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in North Chicago

Where can I hike in North Chicago?

The longest trail networks: Guardian Park, 0.4 miles; Greenbelt Forest Preserve, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of North Chicago is conserved land?

9% 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 Chicago’s trails?

Guardian Park and Greenbelt Forest Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in North Chicago?

5.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.6 of off-road paths.

Is there public land near North Chicago?

19,858 acres of parks and open public land lie inside North Chicago or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 604 of them inside the city line.

How much outdoors does North Chicago have?

Ahead of 89% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #88 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 Chicago neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →