Chart Our Future City of Lake Forest Parks & Recreation Master Plan | Page 100

State Trends
Data from the Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) is used to
compare the City of Lake Forest amenities to other recreation providers in the state of Illinois.
The Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation
Plan (SCORP) is prepared as a five-year document by
the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to
maintain Illinois’ eligibility to participate in the Land
Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) program). Its purpose
is to “evaluate the outdoor recreation needs of Illinois
citizens and determine how best to meet those needs”.
The state’s natural resources, recreational lands, facilities,
and socioeconomic factors are considered in this vision
document.
A major finding in the 2015-2019 SCORP is the state’s long-
standing deficit of outdoor recreation lands and facilities.
While Illinois has not been able to achieve the per capita
equivalent of other states with more lands and fewer
people, park and recreation agencies throughout the state
consistently plan for and achieve a high level of excellence
with the recreation opportunities they provide to their
communities.
Recreation Facilities and Park Lands Inventory
There are more than 1.5 million acres of outdoor
recreation land in Illinois ranging from federal and state
lands to schools and private commercial lands. Municipal
agencies, which include park and recreation departments,
park districts, forest preserve districts, conservation
districts, and county-level park departments, provide a
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total of 350,915 acres of park sites. They also own 195,753
acres of natural areas and lease/manage another 15,612
acres of open space.
The state itself offers 470,000 acres of open space
throughout the state, primarily handled by the IDNR. State
lands include parks, fish and wildlife areas, conservation
areas and recreation areas to name a few. Federal lands
include the 280,000 acre Shawnee National Forest and
seven National Wildlife Refuges sites throughout the
state. Other providers include schools, non-profits and
private entities that provide unique outdoor recreation
opportunities for the people of Illinois. The lands managed
by these providers were not included in the SCORP.
Based on the 2015 Illinois Community Recreation Facilities
and Park Lands Inventory, there are approximately 347.08
acres and 17.9 park sites on average per community
throughout the state. Typically, park districts provide
more acreage and park sites than city/village recreation
agencies.
Top trends across the state are pickleball, disc golf, and
splash pads. The increasing popularity of pickleball is in
response to aging populations found in all communities
across the state, while the popularity of splash pads is in
response to the financial constraints of outdoor swimming
pool renovations. The popularity of disc golf demonstrates
CITY OF LAKE FOREST PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT COMPREHENSIVE MASTER PLAN
CHAPTER 4