Big Rock Forest Preserve
Managed by Forest Preserve District of Kane County
850 acres9.5 mi of trail
Northwestern Lot Line TrailCamp to Lake TrailSiegler Lake Loop TrailPrairie-Woodland Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Jauerback · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Big Rock Township
Big Rock Township has 762 acres of parks, 361 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Big Rock Forest Preserve (9.5 mi). 9% of Big Rock Township’s land is conserved, about 1,971 acres. 17 miles of mapped trail cross Big Rock Township, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
1,971 acres · of 35.1 sq mi of land
Trails
17 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
762 ac
361 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
65%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.2 mi
1.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Big Rock Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Big Rock Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Big Rock Township is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Big Rock Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (17 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land361 acres of park per 1,000 residents (762 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13AParks close to home65% 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 82%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ 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
The longest trail network is Big Rock Forest Preserve, with 9.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Big Rock Community Park
Park
15 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
1,971 conserved acres
9% of Big Rock Township’s land. Who manages Big Rock Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
USDA easements (NRCS)888 ac
Regional agency778 ac
Joint618 ac
County559 ac
Town or city14 ac
Agricultural Easement · 2,065 acLocal Other or Unknown · 554 acLocal Conservation Area · 166 acUnknown · 58 acLocal Park · 14 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,180 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 26 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Rock Forest Preserve 1 Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 293 | Unknown |
| Big Rock Forest Preserve 2 Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 133 | Unknown |
| Big Rock Forest Preserve 5 Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 116 | Unknown |
| Prairie Kame Forest Preserve Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 86 | Open |
| Big Rock Forest Preserve- Addition Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 80 | Open |
| Unnamed Property Unknown | Regional agency | 34 | Open |
| Deer Valley Golf Course Unknown | Regional agency | 24 | Open |
| Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Big Rock Forest Preserve 3 Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 11 | Unknown |
Things to do
3 places to go in Big Rock Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Big Rock Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in Big Rock Township
Big Rock CampgroundIn Big Rock Forest Preserve · Forest Preserve District of Kane County
DirectionsTrails & water
12 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 9.9 mi
Northwestern Lot Line Trail2.6 mi
Camp to Lake Trail1.4 mi
Siegler Lake Loop Trail1.3 mi
Prairie-Woodland Trail0.7 mi
North Loop Trail0.7 mi
Central Connector Trail0.5 mi
Prairie Trail0.5 mi
East Creek Trail0.5 mi
West Savanna Trail0.4 mi
Northwestern Connector Trail0.3 mi
2 more trails
Camp Pond Trail
0.2 miWelch Creek Trail
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
6Baseball
3Basketball
2Pickleball
1Soccer
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Big Rock Township: April and September
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) | 30 | 35 | 47 | 60 | 72 | 81 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 63 | 48 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 1.8 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 2.5 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Big Rock Township →
Next door
Big Rock Township and its neighbors
Big Rock Township has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Little Rock Township29 miBig Rock Township17 miSugar Grove Township13 miKaneville Township4.9 miSquaw Grove Township2.5 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Rock Township | 9% | 0.5 | 361 | 65% | A− |
| Kaneville Township | 16% | 0.1 | 104 | 2% | B |
| Little Rock Township | 3% | 0.8 | 53 | 91% | A− |
| Sugar Grove Township | 13% | 0.4 | 99 | 95% | A |
| Squaw Grove Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 3 | 66% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Big Rock Township
Where can I hike in Big Rock Township?
The longest trail networks: Big Rock Forest Preserve, 9.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Big Rock Township is conserved land?
9% 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 Big Rock Township’s trails?
Big Rock Forest Preserve and Big Rock Community Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Big Rock Township?
1.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Big Rock Township?
14,506 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Big Rock Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 796 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Big Rock Township have?
Ahead of 82% 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 Big Rock 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 →