Heritage Park
Managed by Wheeling Park District
119 acres2.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: bogdanstepniak · CC BY 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Wheeling
Wheeling has 216 acres of parks, 5.6 for every 1,000 residents
95% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Heritage Park (2.4 mi). 4.0 miles of mapped trail cross Wheeling, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns · #426 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
174 acres · of 8.7 sq mi of land
Trails
4.0 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
216 ac
5.6 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
95%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
12 mi
0.6 mi lanes · 11 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Wheeling?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Wheeling have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Wheeling is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns, #426 of 768 in Illinois. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Wheeling’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land5.6 acres of park per 1,000 residents (216 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13CParks 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 58%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 45%
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 Heritage Park, with 2.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Husky Park
Managed by Wheeling Park District
12 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Dam Number 1 Woods Preserve
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
428 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 9 parks & preserves
Heritage Park119 acres · 2.4 mi of trail · Wheeling Park District
DirectionsHusky Park12 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Wheeling Park District
Chamber Park7 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsPotawatomi Woods Preserve39 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsChilderley Park14 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Wheeling Park District
DirectionsDam Number 1 Woods Preserve428 acres · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsHorizon Park10 acres · Wheeling Park District
Northside Park4 acres · Wheeling Park District
DirectionsSandpebble Drive Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
174 conserved acres
3% of Wheeling’s land. Who manages Wheeling’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency174 ac
Local Park · 174 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heritage Park Local Park | Regional agency | 98 | Open |
| Wheeling Park Local Park | Regional agency | 26 | Open |
| Childerly Park Local Park | Regional agency | 12 | Open |
| Horizon Park Local Park | Regional agency | 9 | Open |
| Chamber Park Local Park | Regional agency | 6 | Open |
| Husky Park Local Park | Regional agency | 5 | Open |
| Aquadome Indoor Pool At Bghs Local Park | Regional agency | 5 | Open |
| Denoyer Park Local Park | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
| Pleasant Run Park Local Park | Regional agency | 3 | Open |
| Northside Park Local Park | Regional agency | 3 | Open |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
26 places to go in Wheeling
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Wheeling
Children's PlaygroundIn Sandpebble Drive Park
DirectionsPlus 21 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Wheeling
2 dog parks without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Wheeling
Dam No. 1 Woods-East Grove #1In Dam Number 1 Woods Preserve
DirectionsPlus 1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
12 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.6 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
11 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
28Tennis
13Baseball
12Soccer
6Basketball
3Pickleball
3Volleyball
3Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Wheeling
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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.2 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 35 | 46 | 58 | 69 | 79 | 83 | 82 | 75 | 62 | 48 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 1.9 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Wheeling →
Next door
Wheeling and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Northfield Township58 miVernon Township44 miWheeling Township19 miNorthbrook16 miArlington Heights10 miWheeling4.0 miBuffalo Grove3.4 miProspect Heights3.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheeling | 3% | 0.5 | 6 | 95% | B |
| Prospect Heights | 5% | 0.7 | 10 | 99%+ | A− |
| Buffalo Grove | 8% | 0.4 | 12 | 99%+ | A− |
| Arlington Heights | 5% | 0.6 | 8 | 99% | B+ |
| Wheeling Township | 5% | 0.5 | 9 | 98% | B+ |
| Northfield Township | 9% | 1.7 | 15 | 91% | A |
| Vernon Township | 18% | 1.2 | 47 | 97% | A+ |
| Northbrook | 7% | 1.2 | 14 | 91% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Wheeling
Where can I hike in Wheeling?
The longest trail networks: Heritage Park, 2.4 miles; Husky Park, 0.4 miles; Chamber Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Wheeling is conserved land?
3% 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 Wheeling’s trails?
Heritage Park and Husky Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Wheeling?
12 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.6 of painted or protected lanes and 11 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Wheeling?
14,912 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Wheeling or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 216 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Wheeling have?
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #426 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 Wheeling 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 →