North Salk Park
Managed by Rolling Meadows Park District
20 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: author: Joseph E. Lobocki · CC BY 2.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Rolling Meadows
Rolling Meadows has 162 acres of parks, 6.8 for every 1,000 residents
93% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2.4 miles of mapped trail cross Rolling Meadows, 0.4 per square mile of land. 4% of Rolling Meadows’ land is conserved, about 141 acres.
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns · #409 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
141 acres · of 5.6 sq mi of land
Trails
2.4 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
162 ac
6.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
93%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
13 mi
0.3 mi lanes · 12 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Rolling Meadows?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Rolling Meadows have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Rolling Meadows is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns, #409 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 Rolling Meadows’ overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land6.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (162 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home93% 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 60%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 47%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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 North Salk Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Rolling Meadows Community Center Fields
Managed by Rolling Meadows Park District
18 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Kimball Hill Park
Managed by Rolling Meadows Park District
28 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
South Salk Park
Managed by Rolling Meadows Park District
19 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 11 parks & preserves
North Salk Park20 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Rolling Meadows Park District
DirectionsRolling Meadows Community Center Fields18 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Rolling Meadows Park District
Kimball Hill Park28 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Rolling Meadows Park District
DirectionsSouth Salk Park19 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Rolling Meadows Park District
Plum Grove Park6 acres · Rolling Meadows Park District
Waverly Park5 acres · Rolling Meadows Park District
Countryside Park3 acres
The Grove3 acres · Rolling Meadows Park District
DirectionsSouth Park2 acres · Salt Creek Rural Park District
DirectionsSunset Park2 acres · Rolling Meadows Park District
Cottonwood Park2 acres · Rolling Meadows Park District
DirectionsWho protects it
141 conserved acres
4% of Rolling Meadows’ land. Who manages Rolling Meadows’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency135 ac
Town or city6 ac
Local Park · 135 acUnknown · 6 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Community Center Park Local Park | Regional agency | 25 | Open |
| South Salk Park Local Park | Regional agency | 21 | Open |
| Plum Grove Reservoir Local Park | Regional agency | 20 | Open |
| Kimball Hill Park Local Park | Regional agency | 14 | Open |
| Florey Park Local Park | Regional agency | 12 | Open |
| North Salk Park Local Park | Regional agency | 11 | Open |
| Plum Grove Park Local Park | Regional agency | 9 | Open |
| Cardinal Drive Park Local Park | Regional agency | 8 | Open |
| West Meadows Ice Arena Unknown | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Waverly Park Local Park | Regional agency | 5 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
19 places to go in Rolling Meadows
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Rolling Meadows
Meadow Edge Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Rolling Meadows
Hidden Playground
DirectionsPlus 17 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
13 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
12 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
28Tennis
16Baseball
6Soccer
5Basketball
4Pickleball
1Beach volleyball
1Skate park
1Volleyball
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 Rolling Meadows
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 | 59 | 70 | 80 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 62 | 48 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 1.9 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 2.4 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Rolling Meadows →
Next door
Rolling Meadows and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Palatine Township52 miWheeling Township19 miSchaumburg18 miArlington Heights10 miPalatine6.8 miRolling Meadows2.4 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rolling Meadows | 4% | 0.4 | 7 | 93% | B |
| Schaumburg | 8% | 0.9 | 15 | 99%+ | A |
| Palatine | 5% | 0.5 | 8 | 99% | B+ |
| Arlington Heights | 5% | 0.6 | 8 | 99% | B+ |
| Palatine Township | 10% | 1.4 | 8 | 97% | A− |
| Wheeling Township | 5% | 0.5 | 9 | 98% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Rolling Meadows
Where can I hike in Rolling Meadows?
The longest trail networks: North Salk Park, 0.3 miles; Rolling Meadows Community Center Fields, 0.3 miles; Kimball Hill Park, 0.2 miles; South Salk Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Rolling Meadows is conserved land?
4% 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 Rolling Meadows’ trails?
North Salk Park and Rolling Meadows Community Center Fields don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Rolling Meadows?
13 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of painted or protected lanes and 12 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Rolling Meadows?
17,051 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Rolling Meadows or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 168 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Rolling Meadows have?
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #409 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 Rolling Meadows 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 →