Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park
Managed by Governors State University
70 acres1.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
AOutdoors
Outdoors in University Park
10% of University Park’s land is conserved, and 95% of residents live within a half mile of a park
10 miles of mapped trail cross University Park, 1.0 per square mile of land. 10% of University Park’s land is conserved, about 691 acres. The biggest trail networks: Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park (1.7 mi).
Ahead of 89% of U.S. towns · #85 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
10%
691 acres · of 10.7 sq mi of land
Trails
10 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
185 ac
25 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
95%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.7 mi
2.7 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is University Park?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does University Park have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, University Park is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns, #85 of 768 in Illinois. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of University Park’s overall grade.
Conserved land10% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land25 acres of park per 1,000 residents (185 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home95% 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 89%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 89%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park, with 1.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Thorn Creek Headwaters Preserve
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Will County
383 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Riegel Farm Park
Park
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park70 acres · 1.7 mi of trail · Governors State University
DirectionsThorn Creek Headwaters Preserve383 acres · Forest Preserve District of Will County
Palmer Park32 acres
DirectionsRiegel Farm Park10 acres
Craig Park6 acres
Black Walnut Creek Preserve1 acres · Forest Preserve District of Will County
Who protects it
691 conserved acres
10% of University Park’s land. Who manages University Park’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation584 ac
Town or city107 ac
Conservation Easement · 584 acLocal Park · 100 acState Conservation Area · 5 acLocal Other or Unknown · 2 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 584 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Lake Local Park | Town or city | 42 | Open |
| Palmer Park Local Park | Town or city | 27 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Riegel Farm Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Craig Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Monee Railroad Prairie State Conservation Area | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Hickok Aquatic Center Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in University Park
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in University Park
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Unpaved · 5.4 mi
Applied Employee Walkway1.9 mi
Biking & sports
2.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
4Tennis
1Soccer
1Basketball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in University Park: 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 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 36 | 48 | 61 | 71 | 81 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 63 | 49 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in University Park →
Next door
University Park and its neighbors
University Park has the most mapped trails of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University Park | 10% | 1.0 | 25 | 95% | A |
| Park Forest | 12% | 0.6 | 12 | 94% | A− |
| Monee | 1% | under 0.1 | 4 | 73% | C− |
| Crete | 2% | 0.3 | 10 | 93% | B− |
| Richton Park | 3% | 0.4 | 8 | 99% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in University Park
Where can I hike in University Park?
The longest trail networks: Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park, 1.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of University Park 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 University Park’s trails?
Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park and Thorn Creek Headwaters Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in University Park?
2.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.7 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near University Park?
6,258 acres of parks and open public land lie inside University Park or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 185 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does University Park have?
Ahead of 89% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #85 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 University Park 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 →