Riverdale Park
Managed by Riverdale Park District
13 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Boscophotos · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Riverdale
98% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Riverdale
The biggest trail networks: Riverdale Park (0.5 mi). 54 acres are parks and preserves, 5.2 per 1,000 residents. 1.4 miles of mapped trail cross Riverdale, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns · #456 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
52 acres · of 3.6 sq mi of land
Trails
1.4 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
54 ac
5.2 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.4 mi
0.7 mi lanes · 2.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Riverdale?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Riverdale have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Riverdale is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns, #456 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 Riverdale’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land5.2 acres of park per 1,000 residents (54 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13CParks close to home98% 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 56%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 41%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. 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 Riverdale Park, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Kickapoo Woods
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
149 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Whistler Woods
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
138 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Calumet Woods
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
106 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 8 parks & preserves
Riverdale Park13 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Riverdale Park District
DirectionsPrairie Park5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Riverdale Park District
DirectionsKickapoo Woods149 acres · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsWhistler Woods138 acres · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsCalumet Woods106 acres · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsIvanhoe Park5 acres · Riverdale Park District
DirectionsFranson Park4 acres · Riverdale Park District
DirectionsMohawk Park4 acres · Riverdale Park District
DirectionsWho protects it
52 conserved acres
2% of Riverdale’s land. Who manages Riverdale’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency39 ac
Town or city13 ac
Local Park · 50 acUnknown · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ivanhoe Park Local Park | Regional agency | 18 | Open |
| Memorial And Reitz Buildings Park Local Park | Regional agency | 17 | Open |
| Prairie Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Franson Park Local Park | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
| Riverdale Park Recreation Center Unknown | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
14 places to go in Riverdale
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Riverdale
11 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Riverdale
Calumet Woods Picnic Shelter Grove 1In Calumet Woods
DirectionsWhistler Woods Picnic Grove 1In Whistler Woods
DirectionsWhistler Woods Picnic Grove 2In Whistler Woods
DirectionsTrails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.7 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
2.6 mi
off-road bike paths
1.0 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
5Tennis
2Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Pacesetter Gardens Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2005
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Riverdale: 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 | 80 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 63 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 2.7 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.4 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Riverdale →
Next door
Riverdale and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Chicago242 miThornton Township21 miRiverdale1.4 miCalumet Township1.4 miBlue Island0.6 miDixmoor0.1 miDolton0.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riverdale | 2% | 0.4 | 5 | 98% | B |
| Calumet Township | 2% | 0.3 | 3 | 96% | B− |
| Chicago | 8% | 1.1 | 4 | 99% | A− |
| Blue Island | 2% | 0.1 | 2 | 99% | C+ |
| Dixmoor | under 1% | 0.1 | under 1 | 92% | C− |
| Thornton Township | 7% | 0.5 | 8 | 98% | B+ |
| Dolton | 3% | under 0.1 | 5 | 99%+ | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Riverdale
Where can I hike in Riverdale?
The longest trail networks: Riverdale Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Riverdale 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 Riverdale’s trails?
Riverdale Park and Kickapoo Woods don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Riverdale?
4.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.7 of painted or protected lanes, 2.6 of off-road paths and 1.0 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Riverdale?
11,387 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Riverdale or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 55 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Riverdale have?
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #456 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 Riverdale 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 →