Harter Community Park
Managed by Sugar Grove Park District
16 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Ephraim Smith House · Photo: IvoShandor · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Sugar Grove
Sugar Grove has 233 acres of parks, 25 for every 1,000 residents
94% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Harter Community Park (0.7 mi). 2% of Sugar Grove’s land is conserved, about 183 acres.
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns · #352 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
183 acres · of 11.7 sq mi of land
Trails
2.9 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
233 ac
25 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
94%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
9.7 mi
9.7 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Sugar Grove?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Sugar Grove have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sugar Grove is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns, #352 of 768 in Illinois. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Sugar Grove’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land25 acres of park per 1,000 residents (233 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home94% 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 65%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 54%
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 Harter Community Park, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Volunteer Park
Managed by Sugar Grove Park District
10 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Aurora West Forest Preserve
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Kane County
38 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Belle Vue Park
Managed by Sugar Grove Park District
35 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 20 parks & preserves
Harter Community Park16 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · Sugar Grove Park District
DirectionsVolunteer Park10 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Sugar Grove Park District
Carson Slough Park7 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Sugar Grove Park District
DirectionsBig Rock Forest Preserve8 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of Kane County
Hannaford Woods-Nickels Farm Forest Preserve3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of Kane County
DirectionsChelsea Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Sugar Grove Park District
Aurora West Forest Preserve38 acres · Forest Preserve District of Kane County
Belle Vue Park35 acres · Sugar Grove Park District
DirectionsBliss Woods Forest Preserve24 acres · Forest Preserve District of Kane County
DirectionsMallard Park8 acres · Sugar Grove Park District
DirectionsBlack Walnut Park7 acres · Sugar Grove Park District
Dugan Park West5 acres · Sugar Grove Park District
Keck Park3 acres · Sugar Grove Park District
DirectionsDugan Park East3 acres · Sugar Grove Park District
Homestead Park2 acres
Frontier Park2 acres
Strubler Park1 acres · Sugar Grove Park District
Walnut Woods Park1 acres · Sugar Grove Park District
DirectionsWindsor Pointe Park1 acres · Sugar Grove Park District
DirectionsCrossroads Park1 acres
Who protects it
183 conserved acres
2% of Sugar Grove’s land. Who manages Sugar Grove’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency102 ac
Town or city81 ac
State natural resources2 ac
State conservation2 ac
Local Park · 144 acLocal Conservation Area · 32 acLocal Recreation Area · 5 acConservation Easement · 4 acUnknown · 3 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sugar Grove Sports Complex Local Park | Town or city | 59 | Open |
| Aurora West Forest Preserve Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 30 | Open |
| Bliss Woods Forest Preserve Local Park | Regional agency | 18 | Open |
| Belle Vbe Park Local Park | Regional agency | 11 | Open |
| Dugan Park East Local Park | Regional agency | 8 | Open |
| Mallard Park Local Park | Regional agency | 8 | Open |
| Volunteer Park Local Park | Regional agency | 7 | Open |
| Black Walnut Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Carson Slough Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Sheffield Plains Park Local Park | Regional agency | 5 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
20 places to go in Sugar Grove
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Sugar Grove
Walnut Wood Playground
DirectionsPlus 18 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Sugar Grove
Woof Run Dog Park
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.6 mi
Prairie Loop Trail0.2 mi
Northwestern Lot Line Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
9.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
9.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
12Baseball
8Basketball
7Tennis
1Football
1Hockey rinks
1Volleyball
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).
Ephraim Smith HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Sugar Grove: April 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) | 30 | 35 | 47 | 60 | 71 | 81 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 63 | 48 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 1.8 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 2.5 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Sugar Grove →
Next door
Sugar Grove and its neighbors
Sugar Grove has the second most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Sugar Grove
Where can I hike in Sugar Grove?
The longest trail networks: Harter Community Park, 0.7 miles; Volunteer Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Sugar Grove 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 Sugar Grove’s trails?
Harter Community Park and Volunteer Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Sugar Grove?
9.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 9.7 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Sugar Grove?
18,168 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sugar Grove or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 234 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Sugar Grove have?
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #352 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 Sugar Grove 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 →