Roanoke Park
Managed by Roanoke Park District
26 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Roanoke Park south upper lot
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainBOutdoors
Outdoors in Roanoke
5% of Roanoke’s land is conserved, and 99% of residents live within a half mile of a park
5% of Roanoke’s land is conserved, about 29 acres. 0.1 miles of mapped trail cross Roanoke, 0.1 per square mile of land. 27 acres are parks and preserves, 14 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
29 acres · of 0.9 sq mi of land
Trails
0.1 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
27 ac
14 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Roanoke?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Roanoke have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Roanoke is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Roanoke’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4CPark land14 acres of park per 1,000 residents (27 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B−Parks 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 63%
LessMore
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Roanoke. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
29 conserved acres
5% of Roanoke’s land. Who manages Roanoke’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city29 ac
Local Recreation Area · 26 acUnknown · 2 acLocal Park · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roanoke Park and Swimming Pool Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 26 | Open |
| Depot Unknown | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Small Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Roanoke
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Roanoke
1 public pool without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Roanoke
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
3Baseball
2Basketball
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Roanoke: April, August 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 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 37 | 50 | 63 | 74 | 82 | 85 | 83 | 78 | 65 | 50 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 2.6 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Roanoke →
Questions about parks and trails in Roanoke
How much of Roanoke 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 Roanoke’s trails?
Roanoke Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Roanoke?
581 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Roanoke or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 30 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Roanoke have?
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Roanoke 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 →