1
Joe Orr Woods
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
86 acres0.8 mi of trail
Thorn Creek Black Unpaved Spur
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
Outdoors · Chicago Heights
Chicago Heights, IL parks, trails & bike paths
About 3.1% of Chicago Heights is conserved land, roughly 207 acres. There are about 2.7 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in Joe Orr Woods (0.8 mi), Halsted Woods (0.5 mi), and Woodrow Wilson Woods (0.5 mi).
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in Chicago Heights, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
Chicago Heights outdoors
Conserved land
3.1%
207 of 6,604 acres
Trails
2.7 mi
0.3 mi per sq mi
Parks & preserves
16
8 conserved acres per 1,000 residents
Bike routes
4.6 mi
0.0 mi lanes · 4.6 mi off-road paths
Conserved land is a share of the whole town area. Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number or a place below to zoom in© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Parks & preserves with trails
Ranked by mapped trail miles. Directions go to the nearest marked trailhead or public parking.
2
Halsted Woods
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
60 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo Hap Bruno Field
3
Woodrow Wilson Woods
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
31 acres0.5 mi of trail
Thorn Creek Yellow Unpaved Spur
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
4
Indian Hill Woods
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Cook County
65 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 16 parks & preserves
Showing 1–10 of 16 parks & preserves
Joe Orr Woods86 acres · 0.8 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
Halsted Woods60 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
Woodrow Wilson Woods31 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
Indian Hill Woods65 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Forest Preserve District of Cook County
Commissioners Park14 acres · Chicago Heights Park District
Beacon Hill Park6 acres · Chicago Heights Park District
Smith Memorial Park5 acres · Chicago Heights Park District
Alex Lopez Park4 acres · Chicago Heights Park District
Seiter Park4 acres · Chicago Heights Park District
Euclid Park4 acres · Chicago Heights Park District
Things to do
Beaches, playgrounds, falls & more
Pick a kind of place for the list, directions, or pins on the map above.
Picnic areas in Chicago Heights
Joe Orr Woods Picnic Shelter Grove 1In Joe Orr Woods
Woodrow Wilson Woods Picnic Shelter Grove 1In Woodrow Wilson Woods
Trails
Named trails
- Thorn Creek Yellow Unpaved Spur0.2 mi
- Thorn Creek Black Unpaved Spur0.1 mi
Who protects the land
207 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Biking & sports
Bike routes, courts & fields
- Painted or protected bike lanes0.0 mi
- Off-road bike paths4.6 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes0.0 mi
Courts & fields
- Tennis17
- Baseball11
- Basketball4
- Football4
- Soccer4
Counts include school and college facilities, which aren't always open to the public.
Public lands
The biggest protected places in Chicago Heights
From USGS PAD-US: who manages each one and whether visitors are welcome.
Unknown 120 acLocal Park 64 acState Recreation Area 22 ac
Showing 1–10 of 15 places
| Place | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golf Course - EastUnknown | Town or city | 69 | Open |
| Golf Course - WestUnknown | Town or city | 52 | Open |
| Old Plank Road State TrailState Recreation Area | State natural resources | 22 | Open |
| Commissioner'S ParkLocal Park | Regional agency | 15 | Open |
| Chicago Heights Lions Club ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Sesto ParkLocal Park | Regional agency | 6 | Open |
| Mceldowney ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Euclid ParkLocal Park | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
| Smith Memorial ParkLocal Park | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
| Hodges ParkLocal Park | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
History
Historic places to visit
Chicago Heights Veterans' MemorialIn Woodrow Wilson Woods · War memorial
Bloom Presbyterian CemeteryCemetery
Nearby
Chicago Heights and its neighbors
Towns whose outdoors data has been built so far.
| Town | Conserved | Trails | Parks & preserves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Heights | 3.1% | 2.7 mi | 16 |
| Glenwood | 1.6% | 3.9 mi | 6 |
| South Chicago Heights | 3.3% | 0.0 mi | 2 |
| Olympia Fields | 7.3% | 4.8 mi | 5 |
| Flossmoor | 8% | 1.1 mi | 8 |
| Park Forest | 11.7% | 3.1 mi | 19 |
| Steger | 1% | 0.0 mi | 2 |
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about Chicago Heights's trails yet. Muddy, icy, a bridge out, where to park: a quick post helps the next person.
Sources: trails, parks, preserves, courts and bike lanes © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), map data as of 2026-09-28. Conserved land: USGS Gap Analysis Project, Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US). Measured against the Census town boundary.
How we measure
"Trails" are OpenStreetMap paths, bridleways, public tracks and unpaved footways, plus footways inside a park or preserve or on a named trail route. Sidewalks are left out. Areas are counted on a 20-meter grid, so overlapping parcels count once. "Conserved" includes conservation easements, which protect land from development but are usually private property. Trailheads are the nearest marked trailhead, public parking lot or information board within about 150 meters of a preserve. Dog rules come from OpenStreetMap when someone has tagged them; otherwise we show what's typical for the land manager, or say the rules aren't recorded.