Starved Rock State Park
Managed by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
12 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Chris Light at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0C−Outdoors
Outdoors in North Utica
Few parks or trails are on the map in North Utica
1% of North Utica’s land is conserved, about 31 acres. 50% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 17 acres are parks and preserves, 13 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 24% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
31 acres · of 3.5 sq mi of land
Trails
0.0 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
17 ac
13 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
50%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.9 mi
1.9 mi paths
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does North Utica have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, North Utica is ahead of 24% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of North Utica’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4DPark land13 acres of park per 1,000 residents (17 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home50% of residents within a half mile of a park · IL 88% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 24%
LessMore
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in North Utica. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. 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
31 conserved acres
1% of North Utica’s land. Who manages North Utica’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources17 ac
Town or city6 ac
State conservation5 ac
Other state land3 ac
Unknown · 14 acState Conservation Area · 6 acConservation Easement · 5 acLocal Park · 3 acLocal Recreation Area · 3 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois and Michigan Canal State Trail Unknown | State natural resources | 14 | Open |
| Carey Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Clark Run State Conservation Area | Other state land | 3 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Pecumsaugan Creek/ Blackball Mines State Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 3 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in North Utica
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in North Utica
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Waterfalls in North Utica
2 waterfalls without a name on the map.
Biking & sports
1.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.9 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in North Utica: April, August 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 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 36 | 49 | 62 | 73 | 82 | 85 | 83 | 77 | 64 | 49 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 1.9 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 1.9 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.5 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in North Utica →
Next door
North Utica and its neighbors
North Utica has the second most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Utica | 1% | under 0.1 | 13 | 50% | C− |
| LaSalle | 1% | 0.3 | 4 | 90% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in North Utica
How much of North Utica is conserved land?
1% 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 Utica’s trails?
Starved Rock State Park and Carey Memorial Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in North Utica?
1.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.9 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near North Utica?
5,330 acres of parks and open public land lie inside North Utica or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 33 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does North Utica have?
Ahead of 24% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Utica 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 →