1
Fox Ridge Park
Park
91 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
Outdoors · McHenry
McHenry, IL parks, trails & bike paths
About 3.2% of McHenry is conserved land, roughly 313 acres. There are about 7.7 miles of mapped trails.
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in McHenry, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
McHenry outdoors
Conserved land
3.2%
313 of 9,839 acres
Trails
7.7 mi
0.5 mi per sq mi
Parks & preserves
30
11 conserved acres per 1,000 residents
Bike routes
8.5 mi
0.0 mi lanes · 8.5 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
Petersen Park
Park
78 acres
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo @ Petersen Park Beach
3
Cold Springs Park
Nature preserve
50 acres
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
4
Miller Riverfront Park
Nature preserve
41 acres
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
All 30 parks & preserves
Showing 1–10 of 30 parks & preserves
Fox Ridge Park91 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Petersen Park78 acres
Cold Springs Park50 acres
Miller Riverfront Park41 acres
Knox Park36 acres
Wheeler Fen Park33 acres
Whispering Oaks Park30 acres
Shamrock Farm Park25 acres
William H Althoff Park20 acres
Boulder Creek Park13 acres
Things to do
Beaches, playgrounds, falls & more
Pick a kind of place for the list, directions, or pins on the map above.
Playgrounds in McHenry
Showing 1–10 of 39 playgrounds
Fort McHenryIn Whispering Oaks Park
Unnamed playground in Homestead Tot Lot
Unnamed playground in Shamrock Farm Park
Unnamed playground in Fox Ridge Park
Unnamed playground in Malibu Playground
Unnamed playground
Unnamed playground
Unnamed playground in Jaycee Park
Unnamed playground
Unnamed playground
Water
Lakes & rivers
Tap a name for directions.
Who protects the land
313 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn't always mean open to visitors. 8 acres are conservation easements, which are usually private land. The places listed above are parks and preserves people visit.
Biking & sports
Bike routes, courts & fields
- Painted or protected bike lanes0.0 mi
- Off-road bike paths8.5 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes0.0 mi
Courts & fields
- Baseball26
- Tennis10
- Basketball6
- Soccer3
- Volleyball3
- Football2
- Beach volleyball2
Counts include school and college facilities, which aren't always open to the public.
Public lands
The biggest protected places in McHenry
From USGS PAD-US: who manages each one and whether visitors are welcome.
Local Park 262 acConservation Easement 30 acPrivate Conservation 27 acState Conservation Area 16 ac
| Place | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petersen FarmLocal Park | Town or city | 118 | Open |
| Cold Springs ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 49 | Open |
| Millers Riverfront ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 42 | Open |
| Knox ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 38 | Open |
| Wheeler Fen Land and Water ReservePrivate Conservation | Private owners | 27 | Closed |
| Stickney Run 16State Conservation Area | Regional agency | 16 | Restricted |
| Hickory Creek FarmLocal Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Liberty Trails ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Mchenry Shores BeachLocal Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
History
Historic places to visit
Saint Marys CemeteryCemetery
Woodland CemeteryCemetery
Nearby
McHenry and its neighbors
Towns whose outdoors data has been built so far.
| Town | Conserved | Trails | Parks & preserves |
|---|---|---|---|
| McHenry | 3.2% | 7.7 mi | 30 |
| Wonder Lake | 2.4% | 6.7 mi | 2 |
| Johnsburg | 6.7% | 0.8 mi | 6 |
| Bull Valley | 8.6% | 2.9 mi | 4 |
| Prairie Grove | 6.2% | 1.8 mi | 1 |
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about McHenry'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.