Shannon Bayou
Managed by Kankakee River Valley Forest Preserve District
51 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Aroma Township
Aroma Township has 182 acres of parks, 37 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Shannon Bayou (0.6 mi). 1% of Aroma Township’s land is conserved, about 287 acres. 7.4 miles of mapped trail cross Aroma Township, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 46% of U.S. towns · #533 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
287 acres · of 37.1 sq mi of land
Trails
7.4 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
182 ac
37 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
54%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
725 ft
Mount Langham
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Aroma Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Aroma Township is ahead of 46% of U.S. towns, #533 of 768 in Illinois. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Aroma Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land37 acres of park per 1,000 residents (182 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home54% of residents within a half mile of a park · IL 88% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 46%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 31%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B−. 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 Shannon Bayou, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Iroquois Woods Nature Preserve
Managed by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
45 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Waldron Arboretum
Managed by Kankakee River Valley Forest Preserve District
35 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Heiland Forest Preserve
Park
8 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 8 parks & preserves
Shannon Bayou51 acres · 0.6 mi of trail · Kankakee River Valley Forest Preserve District
DirectionsHeiland Forest Preserve8 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsIroquois Woods Nature Preserve45 acres · Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Waldron Arboretum35 acres · Kankakee River Valley Forest Preserve District
DirectionsPotowatomi Park7 acres · Kankakee Valley Park District
DirectionsMayor RJ Bailey Park5 acres
Strasma Park2 acres · Kankakee Valley Park District
Goselin Park2 acres · Kankakee Valley Park District
Who protects it
287 conserved acres
1% of Aroma Township’s land. Who manages Aroma Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency234 ac
State conservation111 ac
State natural resources43 ac
Town or city7 ac
Local Conservation Area · 183 acConservation Easement · 111 acState Conservation Area · 43 acLocal Recreation Area · 33 acLocal Park · 18 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 3 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heiland Forest Preserve Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 127 | Open |
| Forest Preserve Of The Kanakee Rvier Valley Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 55 | Open |
| Iroquois Woods State Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 43 | Open |
| Woldran Arboretum Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 33 | Open |
| Potowatomi Park Local Park | Regional agency | 6 | Open |
| Zeedyk Meadows Unknown | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
| Unnamed Property Unknown | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Strasma Park Local Park | Regional agency | 3 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Regional agency | 3 | Open |
| Pearl Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
2 places to go in Aroma Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Aroma Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Aroma Township
Mount Langham725 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
2Soccer
2Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Aroma Township
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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 37 | 49 | 62 | 73 | 82 | 85 | 83 | 78 | 65 | 50 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.9 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Aroma Township →
Next door
Aroma Township and its neighbors
Aroma Township has the most mapped trails of the 7 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Aroma Township7.4 miKankakee Township5.6 miKankakee5.2 miSt. Anne Township3.0 miPapineau Township2.1 miOtto Township1.6 miGaneer Township1.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aroma Township | 1% | 0.2 | 37 | 54% | B− |
| Otto Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 55 | 10% | C− |
| Kankakee Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Ganeer Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 10 | 58% | C− |
| St. Anne Township | 3% | 0.1 | 298 | 46% | B− |
| Kankakee | 5% | 0.3 | 29 | 94% | A− |
| Papineau Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Aroma Township
Where can I hike in Aroma Township?
The longest trail networks: Shannon Bayou, 0.6 miles; Heiland Forest Preserve, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Aroma Township is conserved land?
1% 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 Aroma Township’s trails?
Shannon Bayou and Iroquois Woods Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Aroma Township?
5,363 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Aroma Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 186 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Aroma Township have?
Ahead of 46% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #533 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 Aroma Township 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 →