Dayton Bluffs Preserve
Managed by City of Ottawa
258 acres7.3 mi of trail
Great OakNorth Prairie TrailFox River TrailNorth Creek Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: IvoShandor · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Ottawa
Ottawa has 11 miles of mapped trails, 0.7 for every square mile of land
92% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Dayton Bluffs Preserve (7.3 mi). 5% of Ottawa’s land is conserved, about 512 acres.
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns · #279 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
512 acres · of 14.9 sq mi of land
Trails
11 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
185 ac
10 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
92%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
8.2 mi
8.0 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
9 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Ottawa?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ottawa have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ottawa is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #279 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 Ottawa’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (11 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land10 acres of park per 1,000 residents (185 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home92% 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 72%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 64%
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 Dayton Bluffs Preserve, with 7.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Allen Park
Park
21 acres0.3 mi of trail
Allen Park Toboggan Hill
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Lincoln-Douglas Park
Managed by City of Ottawa
31 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Peck Park
Park
19 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 13 parks & preserves
Dayton Bluffs Preserve258 acres · 7.3 mi of trail · City of Ottawa
DirectionsAllen Park21 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsWashington Square Park2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsFox River Park12 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsLincoln-Douglas Park31 acres · City of Ottawa
DirectionsPeck Park19 acres
Thornton Park5 acres
DirectionsRigden Park4 acres · City of Ottawa
Varland Park3 acres
Kiwanis Park3 acres
East Side Park1 acres
Jordan's Block1 acres
DirectionsSkate Park1 acres · City of Ottawa
DirectionsWho protects it
512 conserved acres
5% of Ottawa’s land. Who manages Ottawa’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits264 ac
State conservation253 ac
Town or city148 ac
State natural resources97 ac
Local Conservation Area · 264 acConservation Easement · 253 acUnknown · 92 acLocal Park · 89 acLocal Recreation Area · 60 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dayton Bluffs Preserve Local Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 264 | Open |
| Illinois and Michigan Canal State Trail Unknown | State natural resources | 92 | Open |
| Lincoln Douglas Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 28 | Open |
| Riverwalk/Waterfront Park Local Park | Town or city | 21 | Open |
| Allen Park Local Park | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| Peck Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Fox River Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| East Main Boat Launch Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Walsh Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Fox River State Park | State natural resources | 6 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
21 places to go in Ottawa
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Ottawa
12 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Ottawa
9 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
9 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 8.6 mi
Great Oak1.9 mi
North Prairie Trail1.8 mi
Fox River Trail1.4 mi
North Creek Trail0.5 mi
Prairie Loop0.4 mi
Oak Woodlands0.4 mi
Heart Attack Hill0.4 mi
Fox River Trail / Prairie Loop0.1 mi
Allen Park Toboggan Hill0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
8.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
8.0 mi
off-road bike paths
0.2 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
16Tennis
13Baseball
5Basketball
5Football
1Skate park
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →7 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 4 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
John Hossack HouseBuilding · listed 1972
About itWashington Park Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1973
About itKnuessl BuildingBuilding · listed 1992
About itAndrew J. O'Conor III HouseBuilding · listed 1993
About itJeremiah Strawn HouseBuilding · listed 1995
About itOttawa Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2011
About itOttawa East Side Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2013
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Ottawa: April 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) | 32 | 36 | 49 | 62 | 73 | 82 | 85 | 83 | 78 | 65 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.5 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Ottawa →
Next door
Ottawa and its neighbors
Ottawa has the second most mapped trails of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ottawa | 5% | 0.7 | 10 | 92% | B+ |
| Ottawa Township | 5% | 0.2 | 36 | 87% | B+ |
| Rutland Township | 3% | 0.3 | 32 | 42% | B− |
| Dayton Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 6 | 61% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Ottawa
Where can I hike in Ottawa?
The longest trail networks: Dayton Bluffs Preserve, 7.3 miles; Allen Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ottawa is conserved land?
5% 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 Ottawa’s trails?
Dayton Bluffs Preserve and Allen Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Ottawa?
8.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 8.0 of off-road paths and 0.2 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Ottawa?
7,499 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ottawa or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 282 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Ottawa have?
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #279 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 Ottawa 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 →