Brown-Stevenson City Park
Park
44 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainB−Outdoors
Outdoors in Sparta
Sparta has 67 acres of parks, 17 for every 1,000 residents
83% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.9 miles of mapped trail cross Sparta, 0.1 per square mile of land. 2% of Sparta’s land is conserved, about 169 acres.
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns · #521 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
169 acres · of 11.2 sq mi of land
Trails
0.9 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
67 ac
17 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
83%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Sparta?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Sparta have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sparta is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns, #521 of 768 in Illinois. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Sparta’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4CPark land17 acres of park per 1,000 residents (67 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13BParks close to home83% of residents within a half mile of a park · IL 88% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 47%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 32%
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 Brown-Stevenson City Park, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Tom Reid Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
169 conserved acres
2% of Sparta’s land. Who manages Sparta’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners116 ac
Town or city53 ac
Private Park · 116 acLocal Park · 34 acLocal Recreation Area · 19 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sparta Country Club Private Park | Private owners | 116 | Open |
| Brown-Stevenson City Park Local Park | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| Sparta Fairgrounds Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Chester Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Tom Reid Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Sparta Rotary Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Gilbert Holmes City Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Sparta
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Sparta
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Sparta
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
5Baseball
3Tennis
2Basketball
1Football
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.
Sparta Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1982
About itWhen to get out
The walking year in Sparta
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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 41 | 46 | 56 | 68 | 77 | 85 | 88 | 87 | 81 | 70 | 56 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 2.7 | 2.5 | 3.7 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.8 | 2.9 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 5.1 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Sparta →
Questions about parks and trails in Sparta
Where can I hike in Sparta?
The longest trail networks: Brown-Stevenson City Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Sparta 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 Sparta’s trails?
Brown-Stevenson City Park and Tom Reid Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Sparta?
10,527 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sparta or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 67 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Sparta have?
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #521 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 Sparta 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 →