Lions Park
Park
12 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Waterman Bible Church Parking Lot
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Waterman
97% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Waterman
1.0 miles of mapped trail cross Waterman, 0.7 per square mile of land. 1% of Waterman’s land is conserved, about 11 acres. 18 acres are parks and preserves, 12 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
11 acres · of 1.5 sq mi of land
Trails
1.0 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
18 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
97%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.1 mi
0.1 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Waterman?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Waterman have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Waterman is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Waterman’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (18 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home97% 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 63%
LessMore
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 Lions Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
11 conserved acres
1% of Waterman’s land. Who manages Waterman’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits11 ac
Private Park · 11 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waterman Lions Park Private Park | Land trusts & nonprofits | 11 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Waterman
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Waterman
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Biking & sports
0.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
3Baseball
2Basketball
2Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Waterman: 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) | 29 | 34 | 47 | 60 | 71 | 80 | 83 | 81 | 76 | 63 | 47 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 1.7 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Waterman →
Questions about parks and trails in Waterman
Where can I hike in Waterman?
The longest trail networks: Lions Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Waterman is conserved land?
1% 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 Waterman’s trails?
Lions Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Waterman?
0.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Waterman?
2,173 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Waterman or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 18 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Waterman 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 Waterman 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 →