Naperville is listed among the top 75 cities in America for runners and for hikers, according to two online lawn service finders.
The city earned 61st place in Lawn Love’s 2022 Best Cities for Runners and 72nd in LawnStarter’s 2022 Best Cities for Hiking.
The runners list compared 181 of the largest U.S. cities while the hiking version reviewed 200 American cities.
The top ranked city for runners was San Francisco, earning high marks for its abundant running communities and access to high-quality trails and running supplies. It also earned points for its terrain, which gives runners of all levels an opportunity to test their endurance and strengthen their knees.
The worst city in America for runners is Killeen, Texas.
Other Illinois cities on the running list include Chicago at 36th, Aurora at 98th and Rockford at 163rd.
Naperville highest marks were for the city’s affordability and safety while the lowest scores were for climate and quality of trails.
Information graded by Lawn Love for the ranking was gathered from organizations such as AllTrails, Meetup, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Running in the USA, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Walk Score, and Yelp.
For the hiking listing, Naperville was No. 1 in the country for safety, but 193rd for climate.
The best city for hiking, according to LawnStarter, is Portland, Oregon, and the worst is Torrance, California.
In Illinois, Aurora bested Naperville in terms of hiking, coming in 57th place. Chicago ranked 149th, Rockford 156th and Joliet 171st.
LawnStarter tabulated data from many of the same organizations used in the runners ranking and groups such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Center for Disaster Preparedness.
The Naperville community has more than 70 miles of trails that safely connect residents to places across the community, according to the Naperville Park District.
The top five trails in and near Naperville, according to AllTrails, includes:
Springbrook Prairie Forest Preserve along Naperville-Plainfield Road, between 75th and 87th streets, including a 5.5-mile loop with crushed limestone and a couple of small hills, a more challenging 2.9-mile rustic loop that is mostly grass and dirt and the 3.1-mile loop Henslow’s Trail.
Knoch Knolls Park Trail, a 2.8-mile loop, which can be accessed from Knoch Knolls or Weber roads.
McDowell Forest Preserve, a 3.5-mile loop trail off Raymond Drive south of Diehl Road.
Greene Valley Forest Preserve, 12 miles of marked trails.
DuPage River Trail, a 3.3-mile trail from Veterans Park on Gartner Road to Weigand Riverfront Park on South Washington Street.
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