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TurnerTownHallPhoto: Teemu08 at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
AOutdoors
Outdoors in West Chicago

West Chicago has 24 miles of mapped trails, 1.5 for every square mile of land

95% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 10% of West Chicago’s land is conserved, about 962 acres. The biggest trail networks: West Chicago Prairie Forest Preserve (2.8 mi), Kress Creek Farms Park (1.6 mi), Reed-Keppler Park (1.1 mi).

Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns · #60 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Conserved land
10%
962 acres · of 15.5 sq mi of land
Trails
24 mi
1.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
650 ac
26 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
95%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
15 mi
15 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1

What kind of outdoors town is West Chicago?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

A trail town1.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 89% of U.S. towns.Parks close to home95% of residents live within a half mile of a park.Land that stays wild10% of the land is conserved; a typical Illinois town, 4%.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does West Chicago have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, West Chicago is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #60 of 768 in Illinois. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.

A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of West Chicago’s overall grade.
Conserved land10% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (24 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land26 acres of park per 1,000 residents (650 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 92%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 92%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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.

123456
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 West Chicago Prairie Forest Preserve, with 2.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

West Chicago Prairie Forest Preserve

Managed by Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
314 acres2.8 mi of trail
Savanna TrailOld Stockyards TrailWest Loop TrailTruitt Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Kress Creek Farms Park

Managed by West Chicago Park District
134 acres1.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Reed-Keppler Park

Managed by West Chicago Park District
73 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Pioneer Park

Managed by West Chicago Park District
34 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Prestonfield Park

Managed by West Chicago Park District
13 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗

Don Earley Park

Managed by West Chicago Park District
12 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 15 parks & preserves
West Chicago Prairie Forest Preserve314 acres · 2.8 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
Directions
Kress Creek Farms Park134 acres · 1.6 mi of trail · West Chicago Park District
Directions
Reed-Keppler Park73 acres · 1.1 mi of trail · West Chicago Park District
Directions
Pioneer Park34 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · West Chicago Park District
Directions
Prestonfield Park13 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · West Chicago Park District
Don Earley Park12 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · West Chicago Park District
Hawthorne Park16 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Directions
Timber Ridge Forest Preserve35 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
Cornerstone Lakes Park55 acres · West Chicago Park District
Directions
Blackwell Forest Preserve25 acres · Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
Meadow Woods Park8 acres · West Chicago Park District
West Branch Forest Preserve5 acres · Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
Hampton Park4 acres · West Chicago Park District
Prince Crossing Park2 acres · West Chicago Park District
Kwasman Memorial Park1 acres · West Chicago Park District
Who protects it

962 conserved acres

10% of West Chicago’s land. Who manages West Chicago’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

Regional agency428 ac
State conservation322 ac
Town or city255 ac
Local Park · 473 acConservation Easement · 335 acLocal Conservation Area · 115 acLocal Resource Management Area · 44 acLocal Other or Unknown · 39 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 297 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 21 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Reed Keppler Park
Local Park
Town or city149Open
Manville Oaks Park
Local Park
Regional agency137Open
West Branch
Local Conservation Area
Regional agency115Open
Cornerston Lakes Park
Local Park
Town or city101Open
West Chicago Prairie 10
Local Resource Management Area
Regional agency41Open
Pioneer Park
Local Park
Regional agency32Open
Timber Ridge 13
Local Other or Unknown
Regional agency29Unknown
Hawthorne Park
Local Park
Regional agency14Open
Easton Park
Local Park
Regional agency12Open
West Chicago Prairie 8
Local Other or Unknown
Regional agency7Unknown

5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.

Things to do

11 places to go in West Chicago

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Playgrounds in West Chicago

11 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.

Trails & water

7 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Unpaved · 4.8 mi
Savanna Trail0.6 mi
Old Stockyards Trail0.5 mi
West Loop Trail0.4 mi
Truitt Trail0.4 mi
Cross Trail0.3 mi
MacQueen Woodland Trail0.2 mi
Gentian Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Lake Kepplerlake
Biking & sports

15 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

15 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
9Tennis
7Baseball
6Soccer
2Football
1Skate park
1Volleyball
1Softball

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

2 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.

History →
McAuley School District No. 27Building · listed 1982
About it
Turner Town HallBuilding · listed 1991
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in West Chicago: April, July 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.410.511.813.314.515.214.913.912.411.09.79.1
High (°F)303547597181848276634835
Rain (in)1.81.82.33.84.74.43.84.03.33.42.52.0

January is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in West Chicago →

Next door

West Chicago and its neighbors

Tap a town to see its outdoors.

St. Charles Township40 miWayne Township36 miGeneva Township28 miWest Chicago24 miSt. Charles17 miBatavia8.0 miWayne2.2 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
West Chicago10%1.52695%A
St. Charles11%1.22698%A
Wayne22%0.425390%A
Wayne Township28%1.06698%A+
Batavia5%0.71199%+A−
Geneva Township14%1.75999%+A+
St. Charles Township12%1.24297%A

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in West Chicago

Where can I hike in West Chicago?

The longest trail networks: West Chicago Prairie Forest Preserve, 2.8 miles; Kress Creek Farms Park, 1.6 miles; Reed-Keppler Park, 1.1 miles; Pioneer Park, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of West Chicago 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 West Chicago’s trails?

West Chicago Prairie Forest Preserve and Kress Creek Farms Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in West Chicago?

15 miles of bike routes are on the map: 15 of off-road paths.

Is there public land near West Chicago?

31,903 acres of parks and open public land lie inside West Chicago or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 650 of them inside the city line.

How much outdoors does West Chicago have?

Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #60 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 West Chicago neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →