Saint Joseph Community Park
Managed by Village of St. Joseph
40 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: User:Onemessedzebra · Public domainB+Outdoors
Outdoors in St. Joseph
10% of St. Joseph’s land is conserved: 130 acres
93% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.4 miles of mapped trail cross St. Joseph, 0.2 per square mile of land. 57 acres are parks and preserves, 15 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns · #294 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
10%
130 acres · of 2.1 sq mi of land
Trails
0.4 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
57 ac
15 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
93%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.1 mi
1.1 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is St. Joseph?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does St. Joseph have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, St. Joseph is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns, #294 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 St. Joseph’s overall grade.
Conserved land10% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land15 acres of park per 1,000 residents (57 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13BParks 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 70%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 62%
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 Saint Joseph Community Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
B.J. Hackler Park
Managed by Village of St. Joseph
9 acres
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
130 conserved acres
10% of St. Joseph’s land. Who manages St. Joseph’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources64 ac
Regional Water Districts64 ac
Town or city55 ac
Regional agency11 ac
Conservation Easement · 64 acLocal Conservation Area · 64 acLocal Park · 55 acUnknown · 11 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Joseph Wetland Local Conservation Area | Regional Water Districts | 64 | Open |
| St. Joseph Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 41 | Open |
| Kickapoo Rail Trail Unknown | Regional agency | 11 | Open |
| Crestwood Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Kolb Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in St. Joseph
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in St. Joseph
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Biking & sports
1.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
7Baseball
7Soccer
5Basketball
2Football
2Softball
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in St. Joseph
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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 14.8 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 39 | 51 | 64 | 74 | 83 | 85 | 84 | 79 | 66 | 51 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 2.3 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in St. Joseph →
Questions about parks and trails in St. Joseph
Where can I hike in St. Joseph?
The longest trail networks: Saint Joseph Community Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of St. Joseph is conserved land?
10% 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 St. Joseph’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Saint Joseph Community Park (on leash), B.J. Hackler Park (on leash) and Kolb Park (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in St. Joseph?
1.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near St. Joseph?
2,224 acres of parks and open public land lie inside St. Joseph or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 70 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does St. Joseph have?
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #294 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 St. Joseph 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 →