Willow Trails Park
Managed by River Trails Park District
13 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Prospect Heights
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Prospect Heights
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Willow Trails Park (0.6 mi). 3.1 miles of mapped trail cross Prospect Heights, 0.7 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 77% of U.S. towns · #234 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
126 acres · of 4.2 sq mi of land
Trails
3.1 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
157 ac
10 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.4 mi
1.4 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Prospect Heights?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Prospect Heights have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Prospect Heights is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns, #234 of 768 in Illinois. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Prospect Heights’ 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 (3 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land10 acres of park per 1,000 residents (157 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · IL 88% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 77%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 70%
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 Trails Park, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Allison Woods Preserve
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
61 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Patriots Park
Managed by Arlington Heights Park District
29 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Lake Avenue Woods Preserves
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
All 9 parks & preserves
Willow Trails Park13 acres · 0.6 mi of trail · River Trails Park District
DirectionsAllison Woods Preserve61 acres · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsPatriots Park29 acres · Arlington Heights Park District
DirectionsLake Avenue Woods Preserves10 acres · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsLions Park7 acres · River Trails Parks District
Kiwanis Park6 acres
DirectionsSchool Street Park3 acres
DirectionsJaycee Park1 acres · Mount Prospect Park District
Roth Park1 acres · Mount Prospect Park District
Who protects it
126 conserved acres
5% of Prospect Heights’ land. Who manages Prospect Heights’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city79 ac
Regional agency46 ac
State natural resources9 ac
Local Park · 74 acUnknown · 51 acConservation Easement · 9 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rob Roy Golf Course Unknown | Town or city | 51 | Open |
| Isaak Walton Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Willow Trails Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| John Muir Park Local Park | Regional agency | 10 | Open |
| Walnut Woods Local Park | Regional agency | 8 | Open |
| Lions Park Local Park | Regional agency | 8 | Open |
| Somerset Park Local Park | Regional agency | 7 | Open |
| Country Gardens Park Local Park | Regional agency | 5 | Open |
| Mcdonald Field Local Park | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
| Claire Lane Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
4 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
9 places to go in Prospect Heights
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Prospect Heights
School Street PlaygroundIn School Street Park
DirectionsPlus 7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Prospect Heights
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Biking & sports
1.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
16Tennis
6Soccer
4Baseball
4Pickleball
4Basketball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Prospect Heights
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) | 31 | 35 | 46 | 58 | 70 | 79 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 62 | 48 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 1.9 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 2.4 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Prospect Heights →
Next door
Prospect Heights 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prospect Heights | 5% | 0.7 | 10 | 99%+ | A− |
| Arlington Heights | 5% | 0.6 | 8 | 99% | B+ |
| Wheeling | 3% | 0.5 | 6 | 95% | B |
| Mount Prospect | 8% | 0.3 | 9 | 97% | B+ |
| Glenview | 10% | 1.9 | 16 | 96% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Prospect Heights
Where can I hike in Prospect Heights?
The longest trail networks: Willow Trails Park, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Prospect Heights 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 Prospect Heights’ trails?
Willow Trails Park and Allison Woods Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Prospect Heights?
1.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Prospect Heights?
14,754 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Prospect Heights or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 157 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Prospect Heights have?
Ahead of 77% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #234 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 Prospect Heights 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 →