Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in River Forest
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 7.1 miles of mapped trail cross River Forest, 2.9 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Thatcher Woods Preserve (4.9 mi), G.A.R. Woods Preserve (0.8 mi).
Ahead of 75% of U.S. towns · #256 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
30 acres · of 2.5 sq mi of land
Trails
7.1 mi
2.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
63 ac
5.3 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.8 mi
0.5 mi lanes
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is River Forest?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, River Forest is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns, #256 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 River Forest’s overall grade.
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.
The longest trail network is Thatcher Woods Preserve, with 4.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Thatcher Woods Preserve
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
243 acres4.9 mi of trail
Trailside Museum of Natural History Trails Red PrimitiveTrailside Museum of Natural History Trails Yellow PrimitiveTrailside Museum of Natural History Trails Brown PrimitiveTrailside Museum of Natural History Trails Green Primitive+1
2% of River Forest’s land. Who manages River Forest’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency30 ac
Local Park · 28 acUnknown · 2 ac
The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)
Managed by
Acres
Public access
Keystone Park
Local Park
Regional agency
9
Open
Priory Park
Local Park
Regional agency
9
Open
Constitution Park
Local Park
Regional agency
3
Open
Centennial Park
Local Park
Regional agency
3
Open
Thatcher Woods - Surplus Property
Unknown
Regional agency
2
Open
Washington Commons
Local Park
Regional agency
2
Open
Memorial Parkway
Local Park
Regional agency
1
Open
Washington Square
Local Park
Regional agency
1
Open
Washington Triangle
Local Park
Regional agency
1
Open
Things to do
16 places to go in River Forest
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.5 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
2.2 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
30Tennis
12Baseball
11Soccer
3Basketball
3Football
2Pickleball
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 13 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
The best walking months in River Forest: 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)
9.4
10.5
11.8
13.3
14.5
15.2
14.9
13.9
12.4
11.0
9.7
9.1
High (°F)
32
36
47
59
70
80
84
82
76
63
49
37
Rain (in)
2.0
1.8
2.3
3.8
4.6
4.3
3.7
4.0
3.3
3.5
2.5
2.1
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in River Forest →
Next door
River Forest and its neighbors
River Forest has the second most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in River Forest
Where can I hike in River Forest?
The longest trail networks: Thatcher Woods Preserve, 4.9 miles; G.A.R. Woods Preserve, 0.8 miles; Priory Park, 0.3 miles; Thomas Jefferson Woods Preserve, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of River Forest is conserved land?
2% 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 River Forest’s trails?
Thatcher Woods Preserve and G.A.R. Woods Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in River Forest?
2.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.5 of painted or protected lanes and 2.2 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near River Forest?
10,713 acres of parks and open public land lie inside River Forest or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 66 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does River Forest have?
Ahead of 75% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #256 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 River Forest neighbors.
Photo: DFHoulihan · CC BY-SA 4.0