North Point Marina
Managed by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
218 acres1.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: 22thecrobot · CC BY-SA 4.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Zion
17% of Zion’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 17% of Zion’s land is conserved, about 1,081 acres. 11 miles of mapped trail cross Zion, 1.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns · #15 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
17%
1,081 acres · of 9.9 sq mi of land
Trails
11 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,127 ac
46 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
9.1 mi
0.6 mi lanes · 8.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Zion?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Zion have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Zion is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #15 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 Zion’s overall grade.
Conserved land17% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (11 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land46 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,127 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · IL 88% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 96%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 98%
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 North Point Marina, with 1.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Adeline Jay Geo-Karis Illinois Beach State Park
Managed by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
543 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Shiloh Park
Managed by Zion Park District
18 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 21 parks & preserves
North Point Marina218 acres · 1.7 mi of trail · Illinois Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsAdeline Jay Geo-Karis Illinois Beach State Park543 acres · 0.8 mi of trail · Illinois Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsHermon Park19 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsShiloh Park18 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Zion Park District
DirectionsDavid Park43 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsSharon Park6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Horizon Village Park27 acres
DirectionsSalem Boulevard Park18 acres
DirectionsShiloh Boulevard Park9 acres
DirectionsBethesda Boulevard Park8 acres
Ophir Park6 acres
DirectionsLorelei Acres Park5 acres
Joanna Park4 acres
Meadow Creek Park3 acres
Elizabeth Park2 acres
DirectionsBethany Avenue Park2 acres
DirectionsTimothy Park1 acres
Olivet Park1 acres · Zion Park District
Galilee Park1 acres
Daniel Park1 acres
Aaron Park1 acres
Who protects it
1,081 conserved acres
17% of Zion’s land. Who manages Zion’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation527 ac
Regional agency419 ac
Town or city361 ac
Local Park · 500 acState Park · 299 acConservation Easement · 227 acUnknown · 150 acLocal Recreation Area · 131 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adeline Jay Geo-Karis Illinois Beach State Park State Park | State conservation | 299 | Open |
| Shepherd's Crook Golf Course Unknown | Town or city | 150 | Open |
| Beulah Park Local Park | Regional agency | 79 | Open |
| Horizon Village Park Local Park | Regional agency | 64 | Open |
| Edina Park Local Park | Regional agency | 63 | Open |
| Shiloh Park Golf Course Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 54 | Open |
| Shiloh Park, Port Shiloh Pool & Shiloh Center Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 43 | Open |
| Mcclory Trail Local Park | Regional agency | 41 | Open |
| Kedron Park Local Park | Town or city | 32 | Open |
| Mount Olivet Memorial Park Local Park | Regional agency | 29 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
21 places to go in Zion
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Zion
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Zion
18 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Community gardens in Zion
2 community gardens without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.2 miUnpaved · 1.6 mi
Kellogg Creek1.7 mi
Inner Loop0.9 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
9.1 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
8.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Zion Bike PathsBike route
0.4 miCourts & fields
17Tennis
15Basketball
12Baseball
9Soccer
1Volleyball
1Skate park
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 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Zion: July to 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 44 | 55 | 67 | 76 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 61 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 1.8 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 2.4 | 1.9 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Zion →
Next door
Zion and its neighbors
Zion has the second most mapped trails of the 7 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Benton Township22 miZion11 miZion Township11 miBeach Park7.5 miWinthrop Harbor5.5 miNewport Township5.0 miWadsworth3.8 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zion | 17% | 1.1 | 46 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Zion Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Benton Township | 29% | 1.5 | 105 | 97% | A+ |
| Beach Park | 6% | 1.1 | 22 | 96% | A |
| Wadsworth | 11% | 0.4 | 109 | 65% | A− |
| Newport Township | 20% | 0.2 | 397 | 79% | A− |
| Winthrop Harbor | 31% | 1.2 | 86 | 99%+ | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Zion
Where can I hike in Zion?
The longest trail networks: North Point Marina, 1.7 miles; Adeline Jay Geo-Karis Illinois Beach State Park, 0.8 miles; Hermon Park, 0.7 miles; Shiloh Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Zion is conserved land?
17% 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 Zion’s trails?
North Point Marina and Adeline Jay Geo-Karis Illinois Beach State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Zion?
9.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.6 of painted or protected lanes and 8.6 of off-road paths. Named routes: Zion Bike Paths.
Is there public land near Zion?
16,863 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Zion or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,127 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Zion have?
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #15 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 Zion 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 →