Willow Park
Managed by Northfield Park District
27 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Northfield
11% of Northfield’s land is conserved: 236 acres
4.5 miles of mapped trail cross Northfield, 1.4 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Willow Park (1 mi), Forest Preserve District of Cook County (0.8 mi), Hibbard Woods Preserve (0.6 mi). 88% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 81% of U.S. towns · #186 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
11%
236 acres · of 3.2 sq mi of land
Trails
4.5 mi
1.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
48 ac
8.7 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
88%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.0 mi
1.5 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Northfield?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Northfield have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Northfield is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns, #186 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 Northfield’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land8.7 acres of park per 1,000 residents (48 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home88% 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 81%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 76%
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 Willow Park, with 1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Forest Preserve District of Cook County
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
47 acres0.8 mi of trail
North Branch Yellow Unpaved Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Hibbard Woods Preserve
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
72 acres0.6 mi of trail
North Branch Yellow Unpaved Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Skokie Lagoons South
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
56 acres0.5 mi of trail
North Branch Yellow Unpaved Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
All 10 parks & preserves
Willow Park27 acres · 1 mi of trail · Northfield Park District
DirectionsForest Preserve District of Cook County47 acres · 0.8 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsHibbard Woods Preserve72 acres · 0.6 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
Skokie Lagoons South56 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsClarkson Park3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Northfield Park District
DirectionsFox Meadow Park12 acres · Northfield Park District
DirectionsWatersmeet Woods3 acres · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsNorthfield Park3 acres · Winnetka Park District
Northfield Park District1 acres · Northfield Park District
Happ Road Park1 acres · Winnetka Park District
Who protects it
236 conserved acres
11% of Northfield’s land. Who manages Northfield’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners196 ac
Regional agency40 ac
Private Park · 196 acLocal Park · 40 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 196 | Open |
| Willow Park Local Park | Regional agency | 22 | Open |
| Fox Meadow Park Local Park | Regional agency | 12 | Open |
| Clarkson Park Local Park | Regional agency | 3 | Open |
| Northfield Park Local Park | Regional agency | 2 | Open |
| Happ Road Park Local Park | Regional agency | 1 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Northfield
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Northfield
Splash PadIn Clarkson Park
DirectionsPlus 4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.7 miHorses · 1.5 miUnpaved · 2.8 mi
North Branch Yellow Unpaved Trail1.5 mi
East Northbrook Trail1.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.5 mi
off-road bike paths
0.5 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
North Branch Yellow Unpaved TrailBike route
1.5 miNorthbrook Bicycle NetworkBike route
1.3 miCourts & fields
32Tennis
6Pickleball
5Soccer
3Basketball
2Football
2Baseball
2Softball
1Field hockey
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Northfield: 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.
| 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) | 32 | 36 | 46 | 57 | 68 | 78 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 62 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 2.5 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Northfield →
Next door
Northfield and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northfield | 11% | 1.4 | 9 | 88% | A− |
| Northbrook | 7% | 1.2 | 14 | 91% | A− |
| Glenview | 10% | 1.9 | 16 | 96% | A |
| Winnetka | 10% | 1.5 | 18 | 99%+ | A |
| Glencoe | 3% | 1.6 | 10 | 99%+ | A− |
| Wilmette | 11% | 1.7 | 11 | 99%+ | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Northfield
Where can I hike in Northfield?
The longest trail networks: Willow Park, 1 miles; Forest Preserve District of Cook County, 0.8 miles; Hibbard Woods Preserve, 0.6 miles; Skokie Lagoons South, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Northfield is conserved land?
11% 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 Northfield’s trails?
Willow Park and Forest Preserve District of Cook County don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Northfield?
2.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.5 of off-road paths and 0.5 of shoulders and shared lanes. Named routes: North Branch Yellow Unpaved Trail and Northbrook Bicycle Network.
Is there public land near Northfield?
8,942 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Northfield or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 48 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Northfield have?
Ahead of 81% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #186 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 Northfield 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 →