Centennial Park
Managed by Oak Lawn Park District
55 acres1.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Village of Oak Lawn · CC BY 2.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Oak Lawn
99% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Oak Lawn
The biggest trail networks: Centennial Park (1.5 mi). 241 acres are parks and preserves, 4.2 per 1,000 residents. 3.8 miles of mapped trail cross Oak Lawn, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns · #386 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
213 acres · of 8.6 sq mi of land
Trails
3.8 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
241 ac
4.2 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.1 mi
0.9 mi lanes · 2.2 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Oak Lawn?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Oak Lawn have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Oak Lawn is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns, #386 of 768 in Illinois. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Oak Lawn’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land4.2 acres of park per 1,000 residents (241 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13CParks 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 62%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 50%
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 Centennial Park, with 1.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Memorial Park
Managed by Oak Lawn Park District
9 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Columbus Manor Park
Managed by Oak Lawn Park District
11 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 16 parks & preserves
Centennial Park55 acres · 1.5 mi of trail · Oak Lawn Park District
DirectionsMemorial Park9 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Oak Lawn Park District
DirectionsWorthbrook Park8 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsWolfe Wildlife Refuge Park5 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Oak Lawn Park District
DirectionsCommisioners Park2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Oak Lawn Park District
Columbus Manor Park11 acres · Oak Lawn Park District
DirectionsCentral Park7 acres · Oak Lawn Park District
DirectionsBrandt Park5 acres · Oak Lawn Park District
Lewandowski Park4 acres · Oak Lawn Park District
DirectionsWilliam Place Park4 acres · Oak Lawn Park District
Oak Meadows Park3 acres · Oak Lawn Park District
DirectionsLakeshore Park3 acres · Oak Lawn Park District
DirectionsLittle Wolfe Playground3 acres · Oak Lawn Park District
Dillon Park3 acres · Oak Lawn Park District
Phillips Park1 acres · Oak Lawn Park District
Harnew Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
213 conserved acres
4% of Oak Lawn’s land. Who manages Oak Lawn’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city185 ac
Regional agency28 ac
Local Park · 131 acLocal Conservation Area · 44 acLocal Recreation Area · 37 acUnknown · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wolfe Wildlife Refuge Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 44 | Open |
| Community Pavilion Local Park | Town or city | 40 | Open |
| Oak Lawn Spartan Athletic Complex Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 28 | Open |
| Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Worthbrook Park & Skate Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Columbus Manor Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Brandt Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Lakeshore Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Harker Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Lawn Manor Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
22 places to go in Oak Lawn
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Oak Lawn
2 public pools without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Oak Lawn
Heather's PlaygroundIn Brandt Park
DirectionsPlus 19 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Biking & sports
3.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.9 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
2.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
31Baseball
28Tennis
11Basketball
5Pickleball
4Volleyball
4Soccer
1Beach volleyball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Oak Lawn: 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 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 36 | 47 | 60 | 71 | 81 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 63 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.5 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Oak Lawn →
Next door
Oak Lawn and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Chicago242 miWorth Township7.8 miOak Lawn3.8 miBridgeview1.4 miBurbank1.2 miAlsip1.0 miChicago Ridge0.3 miHometown0.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oak Lawn | 4% | 0.4 | 4 | 99% | B |
| Chicago Ridge | 9% | 0.1 | 9 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Alsip | 4% | 0.2 | 12 | 99% | B |
| Bridgeview | 3% | 0.3 | 4 | 99%+ | B |
| Hometown | 1% | 0.4 | 2 | 99%+ | B− |
| Worth Township | 5% | 0.2 | 6 | 99% | B |
| Chicago | 8% | 1.1 | 4 | 99% | A− |
| Burbank | 4% | 0.3 | 4 | 99% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Oak Lawn
Where can I hike in Oak Lawn?
The longest trail networks: Centennial Park, 1.5 miles; Memorial Park, 0.4 miles; Worthbrook Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Oak Lawn is conserved land?
4% 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 Oak Lawn’s trails?
Centennial Park and Memorial Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Oak Lawn?
3.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.9 of painted or protected lanes and 2.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Oak Lawn?
13,188 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Oak Lawn or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 242 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Oak Lawn have?
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #386 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 Oak Lawn 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 →