Meadowbrook Park
Managed by Urbana Park District
129 acres1.8 mi of trail
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Daniel Schwen · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Urbana
7% of Urbana’s land is conserved, and 98% of residents live within a half mile of a park
The biggest trail networks: Meadowbrook Park (1.8 mi), Weaver Park (1.4 mi), University of Illinois Arboretum (1.2 mi). 8.5 miles of mapped trail cross Urbana, 0.7 per square mile of land. 7% of Urbana’s land is conserved, about 568 acres.
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns · #148 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
568 acres · of 11.8 sq mi of land
Trails
8.5 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
647 ac
16 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
42 mi
12 mi lanes · 28 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Urbana?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Urbana have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Urbana is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #148 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 Urbana’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land16 acres of park per 1,000 residents (647 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13BParks close to home98% 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 84%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 81%
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 Meadowbrook Park, with 1.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Weaver Park
Managed by Urbana Park District
60 acres1.4 mi of trail
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
University of Illinois Arboretum
Managed by College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Sciences
37 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Busey Woods
Nature preserve
35 acres0.9 mi of trail
Northwoods TrailSouthwoods TrailWildflower Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Crystal Lake Park
Managed by Urbana Park District
86 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Prairie Park
Managed by Urbana Park District
38 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
John Bardeen Engineering Quadrangle
Park
2 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto B-3
All 25 parks & preserves
Meadowbrook Park129 acres · 1.8 mi of trail · Urbana Park District
DirectionsWeaver Park60 acres · 1.4 mi of trail · Urbana Park District
DirectionsUniversity of Illinois Arboretum37 acres · 1.2 mi of trail · College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Sciences
DirectionsBusey Woods35 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
DirectionsCrystal Lake Park86 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · Urbana Park District
DirectionsPrairie Park38 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Urbana Park District
DirectionsIllini Grove7 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsJohn Bardeen Engineering Quadrangle2 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsBeckman Quadrangle2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsHallene Gateway Plaza2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsCarle Park11 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Urbana Park District
DirectionsCrestview Park6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Urbana Park District
Savannah Green Resident's Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
AMBUCS Park24 acres · Urbana Park District
DirectionsLohmann Park14 acres · Urbana Park District
DirectionsChief Shemauger Park14 acres · Urbana Park District
DirectionsBlair Park12 acres · Urbana Park District
South Ridge Park11 acres · Urbana Park District
King Park8 acres · Urbana Park District
DirectionsLarson Park5 acres · Urbana Park District
Victory Park5 acres · Urbana Park District
DirectionsCanaday Park4 acres · Urbana Park District
DirectionsLeal Park3 acres · Urbana Park District
DirectionsWebber Street Park1 acres
DirectionsSunnycrest Park1 acres · Urbana Park District
Who protects it
568 conserved acres
7% of Urbana’s land. Who manages Urbana’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city565 ac
Private owners2 ac
Local Park · 544 acUnknown · 21 acLocal Recreation Area · 2 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meadowbrook Park Local Park | Town or city | 128 | Open |
| Crystal Lake Park Local Park | Town or city | 118 | Open |
| Perkins Road/ Judge Webber Park Local Park | Town or city | 85 | Open |
| Weaver Park Local Park | Town or city | 61 | Open |
| Ambucs Park Local Park | Town or city | 23 | Open |
| Brookens Grounds Unknown | Town or city | 21 | Open |
| Prairie Park Local Park | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| Lohmann Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Chief Shemauger Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Carle Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
53 places to go in Urbana
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Urbana
Blair Park PlaygroundIn Blair Park
DirectionsChallenge CourseIn Blair Park
DirectionsKing Park PlaygroundIn King Park
DirectionsPhillips Recreation Center Playground
DirectionsPrairiePlayIn Meadowbrook Park
DirectionsSunnycrest Tot LotIn Sunnycrest Park
DirectionsVictory Park PlaygroundIn Victory Park
Directions41 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Dog parks in Urbana
Fairlawn Dog Park
DirectionsUrbana Dog Park
DirectionsFishing spots in Urbana
2 fishing spots without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Urbana
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in Urbana
5 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Community gardens in Urbana
Organic GardensFee · In Meadowbrook Park · Urbana Park District
DirectionsPlus 1 community garden without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 3.9 mi
Northwoods Trail0.3 mi
Southwoods Trail0.2 mi
Wildflower Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
42 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
12 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
28 mi
off-road bike paths
1.8 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
41Tennis
29Basketball
21Soccer
17Baseball
10Pickleball
9Tracks
8Softball
4Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →28 places on the National Register, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 13 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Altgeld Hall, University of IllinoisBuilding · listed 1970
About itGreek Revival CottageBuilding · listed 1977
About itClark R. Griggs HouseBuilding · listed 1978
About itUniversity of Illinois Astronomical ObservatoryBuilding · listed 1986
About itNatural History BuildingBuilding · listed 1986
About itChemical LaboratoryBuilding · listed 1986
About itMetal ShopBuilding · listed 1986
About itMilitary Drill Hall and Men's GymnasiumBuilding · listed 1986
About itAlpha Xi Delta Sorority Chapter HouseBuilding · listed 1989
About itFarm HouseBuilding · listed 1989
About it16 more on the History page.
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Urbana
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) | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 2.3 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Urbana →
Next door
Urbana and its neighbors
Urbana has the most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Urbana8.5 miCunningham Township8.5 miChampaign5.1 miChampaign City Township5.1 miUrbana Township4.8 miSomer Township2.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Urbana | 7% | 0.7 | 16 | 98% | A− |
| Cunningham Township | 7% | 0.7 | 16 | 98% | A− |
| Urbana Township | 2% | 0.2 | 31 | 86% | B |
| Somer Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Champaign | 5% | 0.2 | 9 | 98% | B |
| Champaign City Township | 5% | 0.2 | 9 | 98% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Urbana
Where can I hike in Urbana?
The longest trail networks: Meadowbrook Park, 1.8 miles; Weaver Park, 1.4 miles; University of Illinois Arboretum, 1.2 miles; Busey Woods, 0.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Urbana is conserved land?
7% 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 Urbana’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Meadowbrook Park (on leash), Weaver Park (on leash), Crystal Lake Park (on leash) and Prairie Park (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Urbana?
42 miles of bike routes are on the map: 12 of painted or protected lanes, 28 of off-road paths and 1.8 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Urbana?
3,643 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Urbana or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 652 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Urbana have?
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #148 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 Urbana 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 →