Commons Park
Managed by North Riverside Parks and Recreation Department
21 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: MrHarman · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in North Riverside
North Riverside has 5.4 miles of mapped trails, 3.3 for every square mile of land
14% of North Riverside’s land is conserved, about 152 acres. 96% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Commons Park (0.5 mi).
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns · #117 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
14%
152 acres · of 1.6 sq mi of land
Trails
5.4 mi
3.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
41 ac
5.6 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
96%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.1 mi
0.5 mi lanes · 0.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is North Riverside?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does North Riverside have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, North Riverside is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns, #117 of 768 in Illinois. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of North Riverside’s overall grade.
Conserved land14% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%A−Trails3.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land5.6 acres of park per 1,000 residents (41 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13CParks close to home96% 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 87%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 85%
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 Commons Park, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
National Grove Woods Preserve
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
72 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
McCormick Woods Preserve
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
27 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Veterans Park
Managed by North Riverside Parks and Recreation Department
16 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 7 parks & preserves
Commons Park21 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · North Riverside Parks and Recreation Department
DirectionsNational Grove Woods Preserve72 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsVeterans Park16 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · North Riverside Parks and Recreation Department
DirectionsMcCormick Woods Preserve27 acres · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsCallahan Grove Preserve10 acres · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsBrookfield Woods Preserve5 acres · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
26th Street Woods3 acres · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
Who protects it
152 conserved acres
14% of North Riverside’s land. Who manages North Riverside’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners123 ac
Town or city29 ac
Private Park · 123 acLocal Park · 29 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside Golf Club Private Park | Private owners | 123 | Open |
| Veterans Park Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Commons Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
Things to do
11 places to go in North Riverside
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in North Riverside
Tot Spot
DirectionsPlus 3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in North Riverside
Addison Creek Confluence Canoe LaunchIn 26th Street Woods
DirectionsPicnic areas in North Riverside
Andrew Toman Woods Picnic Shelter Grove 6In National Grove Woods Preserve
DirectionsMcCormick Woods Picnic Shelter Grove 1In McCormick Woods Preserve
DirectionsNational Grove Picnic Grove 2In National Grove Woods Preserve
DirectionsNational Grove Picnic Shelter Grove 1In National Grove Woods Preserve
DirectionsNational Grove Picnic Shelter Grove 3In National Grove Woods Preserve
DirectionsThe SpotIn National Grove Woods Preserve
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.5 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
3Baseball
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in North Riverside: April, July 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) | 32 | 36 | 47 | 59 | 71 | 80 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 63 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in North Riverside →
Next door
North Riverside and its neighbors
North Riverside has the second most mapped trails of the 7 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Proviso Township23 miNorth Riverside5.4 miBerwyn2.2 miBerwyn Township2.2 miBrookfield1.7 miRiverside1.2 miForest Park0.3 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Riverside | 14% | 3.3 | 6 | 96% | A |
| Riverside | 5% | 0.6 | 11 | 99%+ | A− |
| Proviso Township | 3% | 0.8 | 2 | 99%+ | B |
| Brookfield | 4% | 0.6 | 4 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Berwyn | 2% | 0.6 | 1 | 99%+ | B− |
| Berwyn Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Forest Park | 1% | 0.1 | 2 | 96% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in North Riverside
Where can I hike in North Riverside?
The longest trail networks: Commons Park, 0.5 miles; National Grove Woods Preserve, 0.1 miles; Veterans Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of North Riverside is conserved land?
14% 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 Riverside’s trails?
Commons Park and National Grove Woods Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in North Riverside?
1.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.5 of painted or protected lanes and 0.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near North Riverside?
10,109 acres of parks and open public land lie inside North Riverside or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 41 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does North Riverside have?
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #117 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 Riverside 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 →