Buffalo Woods
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
80 acres0.4 mi of trail
Brown Unpaved Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Crosbiesmith · CC BY-SA 4.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Willow Springs
95% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Willow Springs
33 acres are parks and preserves, 5.6 per 1,000 residents. 1.4 miles of mapped trail cross Willow Springs, 0.3 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 46% of U.S. towns · #529 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
23 acres · of 4.2 sq mi of land
Trails
1.4 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
33 ac
5.6 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
95%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
10 mi
10 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Willow Springs?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Willow Springs have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Willow Springs is ahead of 46% of U.S. towns, #529 of 768 in Illinois. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Willow Springs’ overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land5.6 acres of park per 1,000 residents (33 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 46%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 31%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C 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 Buffalo Woods, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Columbia Woods
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
72 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Willow Springs Woods
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
70 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
John Husar I&M Canal
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
52 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 10 parks & preserves
Buffalo Woods80 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsColumbia Woods72 acres · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsWillow Springs Woods70 acres · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsJohn Husar I&M Canal52 acres · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
DirectionsLions Park5 acres
Paw Paw Woods Nature Preserve4 acres · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
White Buffalo Park3 acres · Pleasant Dale Park District
DirectionsHealing Waters Park3 acres
Willow Park1 acres
Santa Fe Park1 acres
Who protects it
23 conserved acres
1% of Willow Springs’ land. Who manages Willow Springs’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city13 ac
Regional agency6 ac
State conservation4 ac
Local Park · 19 acConservation Easement · 4 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 4 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lions Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Jwb Fields Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Chalet Local Park | Regional agency | 3 | Open |
| Healing Waters Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| White Buffalo Park Local Park | Regional agency | 3 | Open |
| Willow Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
16 places to go in Willow Springs
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Willow Springs
10 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Willow Springs
Large Dog ParkIn Lions Park
DirectionsSmall Dog ParkIn Lions Park
DirectionsScenic views in Willow Springs
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Willow Springs
Centennial Hill
DirectionsPicnic areas in Willow Springs
Columbia Woods Picnic Shelter Grove 1In Columbia Woods
DirectionsPlus 1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.5 miUnpaved · 1.1 mi
Brown Unpaved Trail0.3 mi
Biking & sports
10 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
10 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
5Baseball
4Basketball
2Pickleball
1Tennis
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Willow Springs: 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.
| 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) | 32 | 36 | 47 | 60 | 71 | 81 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 63 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 2.6 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Willow Springs →
Next door
Willow Springs and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Lemont Township53 miDowners Grove Township51 miLyons Township27 miLemont13 miBurr Ridge5.5 miHodgkins1.8 miWillow Springs1.4 miJustice0.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willow Springs | 1% | 0.3 | 6 | 95% | B− |
| Burr Ridge | 3% | 0.7 | 14 | 94% | B+ |
| Hodgkins | 2% | 0.7 | 12 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Downers Grove Township | 13% | 1.0 | 26 | 99% | A |
| Lemont Township | 3% | 2.6 | 9 | 88% | B+ |
| Lemont | 7% | 1.4 | 26 | 97% | A |
| Justice | 2% | 0.1 | 3 | 88% | C |
| Lyons Township | 3% | 0.8 | 7 | 98% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Willow Springs
Where can I hike in Willow Springs?
The longest trail networks: Buffalo Woods, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Willow Springs 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 Willow Springs’ trails?
Buffalo Woods and Columbia Woods don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Willow Springs?
10 miles of bike routes are on the map: 10 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Willow Springs?
14,712 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Willow Springs or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 34 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Willow Springs have?
Ahead of 46% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #529 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 Willow Springs 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 →