Emricson Park
Park
122 acres3.4 mi of trail
Woodsrock Woods Walk - Intergenerational Nature Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Cosmo1976 assumed (based on copyright claims). · Public domainAOutdoors
Outdoors in Woodstock
Woodstock has 12 miles of mapped trails, 0.9 for every square mile of land
94% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Emricson Park (3.4 mi), Ryders Wood Park (1.5 mi), Silver Creek Nature Area (0.9 mi). 9% of Woodstock’s land is conserved, about 736 acres.
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns · #115 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
736 acres · of 13.2 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
604 ac
23 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
94%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
9.2 mi
1.4 mi lanes · 7.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Woodstock?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Woodstock have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Woodstock is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns, #115 of 768 in Illinois. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Woodstock’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land23 acres of park per 1,000 residents (604 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home94% 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 87%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 85%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Emricson Park, with 3.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Ryders Wood Park
Nature preserve
22 acres1.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Silver Creek Nature Area
Nature preserve
67 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
William C. Donato Conservation Area
Park
28 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail sign
Kishwaukee Headwaters Conservation Area
Managed by McHenry County Conservation District
86 acres0.4 mi of trail
Trail Loop (0.38 mi)
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Westwood Conservation Area
Park
61 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 21 parks & preserves
Emricson Park122 acres · 3.4 mi of trail
DirectionsRyders Wood Park22 acres · 1.5 mi of trail
DirectionsSilver Creek Nature Area67 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
DirectionsBates Park25 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
DirectionsWilliam C. Donato Conservation Area28 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsKishwaukee Headwaters Conservation Area86 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · McHenry County Conservation District
DirectionsWestwood Conservation Area61 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Dick Tracy Way Park2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsYonder Prairie2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · The Land Conservancy of McHenry County
Protected Grassland125 acres
DirectionsDavis Road Park30 acres
DirectionsRaintree Park17 acres
DirectionsSontas Park8 acres
Banford Road Park4 acres
DirectionsSweetwater Park4 acres
Harvey Park3 acres
Prairie Ridge Drive Park3 acres
Willowbrook park3 acres
DirectionsOlson Park2 acres
DirectionsWoodstock Square Historic District2 acres
DirectionsWoodside Park1 acres
Who protects it
736 conserved acres
9% of Woodstock’s land. Who manages Woodstock’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city486 ac
State natural resources189 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits145 ac
State conservation69 ac
Regional agency25 ac
Private owners7 ac
Local Park · 423 acConservation Easement · 305 acState Other or Unknown · 94 acLocal Conservation Area · 88 acPrivate Conservation · 7 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 141 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 39 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emricson Park Local Park | Town or city | 120 | Open |
| Woodstock Greenway Acquisition State Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 94 | Unknown |
| Merryman Fields Park Local Park | Town or city | 78 | Open |
| Westwood Nature Area Local Park | Town or city | 65 | Open |
| Silver Creek Conservation Area Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 63 | Open |
| Davis Road Park (Soccer Fields) Local Park | Town or city | 28 | Open |
| Silver Creek Addition Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 25 | Open |
| Gerry Street Nature Area Local Park | Town or city | 24 | Open |
| Bates Park Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Raintree Park Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
38 places to go in Woodstock
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Woodstock
36 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Fishing spots in Woodstock
2 fishing spots without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 8.7 mi
Trail Loop (0.38 mi)0.4 mi
Woodsrock Woods Walk - Intergenerational Nature Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
9.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.4 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
7.3 mi
off-road bike paths
0.5 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
29Tennis
22Soccer
19Baseball
10Basketball
6Football
4Pickleball
3Volleyball
2Beach volleyball
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 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Woodstock
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 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 33 | 45 | 58 | 70 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 61 | 46 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 1.8 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.8 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Woodstock →
Next door
Woodstock and its neighbors
Woodstock has the second most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woodstock | 9% | 0.9 | 23 | 94% | A |
| Bull Valley | 9% | 0.3 | 15 | 42% | B |
| Dorr Township | 7% | 0.6 | 54 | 85% | A− |
| Greenwood Township | 9% | 0.3 | 122 | 82% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Woodstock
Where can I hike in Woodstock?
The longest trail networks: Emricson Park, 3.4 miles; Ryders Wood Park, 1.5 miles; Silver Creek Nature Area, 0.9 miles; Bates Park, 0.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Woodstock is conserved land?
9% 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 Woodstock’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Kishwaukee Headwaters Conservation Area (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Woodstock?
9.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.4 of painted or protected lanes, 7.3 of off-road paths and 0.5 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Woodstock?
17,534 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Woodstock or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 604 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Woodstock have?
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #115 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 Woodstock 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 →