Konarcik Park
Park
61 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainBOutdoors
Outdoors in Waterloo
Waterloo has 283 acres of parks, 25 for every 1,000 residents
4% of Waterloo’s land is conserved, about 238 acres. 1.6 miles of mapped trail cross Waterloo, 0.2 per square mile of land. 71% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 59% of U.S. towns · #413 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
238 acres · of 8.3 sq mi of land
Trails
1.6 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
283 ac
25 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
71%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.5 mi
4.5 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Waterloo have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Waterloo is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns, #413 of 768 in Illinois. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Waterloo’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land25 acres of park per 1,000 residents (283 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home71% of residents within a half mile of a park · IL 88% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 59%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 46%
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 Konarcik Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Waterloo Fairgounds
Park
32 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
Konarcik Park61 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Lakeview Park112 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsWaterloo Fairgounds32 acres
William Zimmer Memorial Park11 acres
DirectionsLions Park4 acres
Koenigsmark Park3 acres
Waterloo Town Square2 acres
Who protects it
238 conserved acres
4% of Waterloo’s land. Who manages Waterloo’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city153 ac
Regional agency69 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits12 ac
Private owners4 ac
Local Park · 222 acPrivate Park · 16 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeview Park Local Park | Town or city | 141 | Open |
| Konarcik Park Local Park | Regional agency | 57 | Open |
| St. Peter and Paul Park Private Park | Land trusts & nonprofits | 12 | Open |
| Waterloo Sports Association Local Park | Regional agency | 8 | Open |
| Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| William Zimmer Memorial Park Local Park | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
| Lions Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 4 | Open |
| Koenigsmark Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
Things to do
9 places to go in Waterloo
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Waterloo
8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Waterloo
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
3 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
14Baseball
10Tennis
2Soccer
1Skate park
1Basketball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The walking year in Waterloo
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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 46 | 56 | 68 | 76 | 85 | 88 | 87 | 80 | 69 | 55 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 2.8 |
February is the driest month (2.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 5.0 inches fall in April, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Waterloo →
Questions about parks and trails in Waterloo
Where can I hike in Waterloo?
The longest trail networks: Konarcik Park, 0.3 miles; Lakeview Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Waterloo is conserved land?
4% 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 Waterloo’s trails?
Konarcik Park and Lakeview Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Waterloo?
4.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Waterloo?
2,862 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Waterloo or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 283 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Waterloo have?
Ahead of 59% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #413 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 Waterloo 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 →