Gouwens Park
Managed by Village of South Holland
25 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Dennisyerger84 · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in South Holland
5% of South Holland’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Gouwens Park (1.2 mi), Veterans Park (1.2 mi), Riverview Park (0.5 mi). 4.7 miles of mapped trail cross South Holland, 0.6 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns · #241 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
253 acres · of 7.2 sq mi of land
Trails
4.7 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
196 ac
9.4 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.9 mi
1.0 mi lanes · 0.9 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is South Holland?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does South Holland have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, South Holland is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns, #241 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 South Holland’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land9.4 acres of park per 1,000 residents (196 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13C+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 76%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 69%
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 Gouwens Park, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Veterans Park
Managed by Village of South Holland
21 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Riverview Park
Managed by Village of South Holland
6 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Hollandale Park
Managed by Village of South Holland
7 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 25 parks & preserves
Gouwens Park25 acres · 1.2 mi of trail · Village of South Holland
DirectionsVeterans Park21 acres · 1.2 mi of trail · Village of South Holland
DirectionsRiverview Park6 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Village of South Holland
DirectionsHollandale Park7 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Village of South Holland
Pacesetter Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Village of South Holland
DeYoung's Grove Park7 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Village of South Holland
Wigwam Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Village of South Holland
Paarlberg Park15 acres · Village of South Holland
Riverfront Park14 acres · Calumet Memorial Park District
DirectionsVan Oostenbrugge Park10 acres · Village of South Holland
DirectionsMaicach Park7 acres · Village of South Holland
Little Calumet Park7 acres · Village of South Holland
DirectionsMunicipal Park6 acres · Village of South Holland
MacArthur Park6 acres · Village of South Holland
Thorn Creek Park4 acres · Village of South Holland
Arrowhead Park4 acres · Village of South Holland
DirectionsTerrace View Park3 acres · Village of South Holland
DirectionsWillowbrook Park3 acres · Village of South Holland
Pioneer Park3 acres · Village of South Holland
Dahlenburg Park2 acres · Village of South Holland
DirectionsVollbrecht Park2 acres · Village of South Holland
Thornwood Park2 acres · Village of South Holland
Tomahawk Park1 acres · Village of South Holland
DirectionsThorndale Park1 acres · Village of South Holland
Roosevelt Park1 acres · Village of South Holland
Who protects it
253 conserved acres
5% of South Holland’s land. Who manages South Holland’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city148 ac
State natural resources80 ac
Regional agency13 ac
State conservation3 ac
Not recorded8 ac
Local Park · 144 acConservation Easement · 83 acLocal Recreation Area · 24 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 83 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gouwens Park And Sports Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 24 | Open |
| Veterans Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Paarlberg Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Riverfront Park Local Park | Regional agency | 13 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Pacesetter/Riverview Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Maicach Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Van Oostenbrugge Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Municipal Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Riverside Park Local Park | Not recorded | 7 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
16 places to go in South Holland
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in South Holland
15 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in South Holland
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.9 miHorses · 0.9 miUnpaved · 0.9 mi
Thorn Creek Yellow Unpaved Trail0.9 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.0 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.9 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
12Baseball
12Tennis
2Softball
2Soccer
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in South Holland: 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 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 36 | 48 | 60 | 71 | 80 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 64 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 2.7 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in South Holland →
Next door
South Holland and its neighbors
South Holland has the most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Holland | 5% | 0.6 | 9 | 99%+ | A− |
| Harvey | 2% | 0.2 | 4 | 99% | B− |
| Thornton | 2% | under 0.1 | 12 | 99%+ | C+ |
| Calumet City | 8% | 0.5 | 7 | 96% | B+ |
| Dolton | 3% | under 0.1 | 5 | 99%+ | B− |
| Lansing | 3% | 0.3 | 5 | 98% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in South Holland
Where can I hike in South Holland?
The longest trail networks: Gouwens Park, 1.2 miles; Veterans Park, 1.2 miles; Riverview Park, 0.5 miles; Hollandale Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of South Holland 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 South Holland’s trails?
Gouwens Park and Veterans Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in South Holland?
1.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.0 of painted or protected lanes and 0.9 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near South Holland?
11,415 acres of parks and open public land lie inside South Holland or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 196 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does South Holland have?
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #241 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 South Holland 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 →