Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park
Managed by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
213 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Atkinson Township
Atkinson Township has 428 acres of parks, 400 for every 1,000 residents
6% of Atkinson Township’s land is conserved, about 1,269 acres. 77% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 59% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
1,269 acres · of 35.2 sq mi of land
Trails
0.0 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
428 ac
400 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
77%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.3 mi
6.3 mi paths
Highest peak
646 ft
Indian Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Atkinson Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Atkinson Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Atkinson Township is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Atkinson Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4DPark land400 acres of park per 1,000 residents (428 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13AParks close to home77% of residents within a half mile of a park · IL 88% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 59%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Veterans Park
Park
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
1,269 conserved acres
6% of Atkinson Township’s land. Who manages Atkinson Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
USDA easements (NRCS)769 ac
Other state land215 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits207 ac
Town or city78 ac
Conservation Easement · 769 acState Recreation Area · 215 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 207 acLocal Park · 78 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 769 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hennepin Canal State Recreation Area | Other state land | 215 | Open |
| Izaak Walton-Leauge Trap and Skeet Grounds Private Recreation or Education | Land trusts & nonprofits | 207 | Open |
| Atkinson School Recreational Complex Local Park | Town or city | 75 | Open |
| Atkinson Village Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Atkinson Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Dog parks in Atkinson Township
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Atkinson Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Peaks in Atkinson Township
Indian Hill646 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
6.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
6.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
3Baseball
2Tennis
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 Atkinson 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 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 36 | 49 | 62 | 73 | 82 | 84 | 83 | 77 | 64 | 49 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 1.7 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 3.8 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
January is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.9 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Atkinson Township →
Next door
Atkinson Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atkinson Township | 6% | under 0.1 | 400 | 77% | B |
| Geneseo Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Alba 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 Atkinson Township
How much of Atkinson Township is conserved land?
6% 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 Atkinson Township’s trails?
Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park and Veterans Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Atkinson Township?
6.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 6.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Atkinson Township?
3,314 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Atkinson Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 428 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Atkinson Township have?
Ahead of 59% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Atkinson 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 →