Rollins Savanna Forest Preserve
Managed by Lake County Forest Preserves
22 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Sdancuo · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Third Lake
6% of Third Lake’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. 26 acres are parks and preserves, 22 per 1,000 residents. 6% of Third Lake’s land is conserved, about 23 acres.
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
23 acres · of 0.6 sq mi of land
Trails
0.0 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
26 ac
22 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.3 mi
0.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Third Lake?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Third Lake have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Third Lake is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Third Lake’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4DPark land22 acres of park per 1,000 residents (26 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B+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 63%
LessMore
Water is 33% of Third Lake’s area (0 of 1 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 4%.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Third Lake. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
23 conserved acres
6% of Third Lake’s land. Water is left out: Third Lake has 0.6 square miles of land and 0.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Third Lake’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency23 ac
State conservation23 ac
Local Conservation Area · 23 acUnknown Easement · 23 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rollins Savanna Forest Preserve Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 23 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Third Lake
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Third Lake
3 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Third Lake: July to 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 34 | 45 | 57 | 69 | 78 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 61 | 47 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 1.9 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Third Lake →
Next door
Third Lake and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Third Lake | 6% | under 0.1 | 22 | 99%+ | B |
| Gages Lake | 9% | 1.1 | 11 | 98% | A− |
| Grayslake | 9% | 0.6 | 23 | 99%+ | A |
| Warren Township | 12% | 0.5 | 32 | 96% | A |
| Avon Township | 20% | 0.5 | 39 | 99%+ | A |
| Gurnee | 10% | 1.1 | 18 | 97% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Third Lake
How much of Third Lake is conserved land?
6% 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 Third Lake’s trails?
Rollins Savanna Forest Preserve doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Third Lake?
0.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Third Lake?
25,708 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Third Lake or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 26 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Third Lake have?
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Third Lake 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 →