Red Horse Bend
Managed by Boone County Conservation District
18 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Bonus Township
Bonus Township has 210 acres of parks, 48 for every 1,000 residents
15 miles of mapped trail cross Bonus Township, 0.4 per square mile of land. 4% of Bonus Township’s land is conserved, about 919 acres. 64% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns · #324 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
919 acres · of 35.6 sq mi of land
Trails
15 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
210 ac
48 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
64%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
3
1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bonus Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bonus Township is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns, #324 of 768 in Illinois. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bonus Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (15 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land48 acres of park per 1,000 residents (210 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home64% 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 68%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 58%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Winteroath Park
Park
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
919 conserved acres
4% of Bonus Township’s land. Who manages Bonus Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits862 ac
Regional agency340 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)47 ac
Town or city6 ac
Conservation Easement · 694 acLocal Conservation Area · 340 acUnknown · 87 acLocal Park · 69 acUnknown Easement · 65 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 423 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderbird Conservation Area Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 125 | Open |
| Kishwaukee Bend Conservation Area Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 124 | Open |
| Rainbow Gardens Conservation Area Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 90 | Open |
| Future BCCD Property Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 87 | Open |
| Redhorse Bend Local Park | Land trusts & nonprofits | 63 | Open |
| Winterroth Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Bonus Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Bonus Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Bonus Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in Bonus Township
Fawn Meadows Group CampingHoliday Acres RV Campground and Resort
DirectionsHoliday Acres RV Campground and ResortFee · Holiday Acres RV Campground and Resort
DirectionsNature IslandFee · Holiday Acres RV Campground and Resort
DirectionsTrails & water
3 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
2Volleyball
1Basketball
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 Bonus 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 33 | 46 | 59 | 70 | 80 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 62 | 47 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 1.7 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.9 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 1.9 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.9 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Bonus Township →
Next door
Bonus 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonus Township | 4% | 0.4 | 48 | 64% | B+ |
| Spring Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Belvidere Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Marengo 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 Bonus Township
How much of Bonus Township is conserved land?
4% 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 Bonus Township’s trails?
Red Horse Bend and Winteroath Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Bonus Township?
12,040 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bonus Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 235 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Bonus Township have?
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #324 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 Bonus 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 →