Howard Colman Hall Creek Preserve
Managed by Byron Forest Preserve District
313 acres6.8 mi of trail
Hall Creek LoopBluff LoopBridge LoopBridge Loop+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Ben Jacobson (Kranar Drogin) · CC BY 2.5BOutdoors
Outdoors in Byron Township
Byron Township has 287 acres of parks, 45 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Howard Colman Hall Creek Preserve (6.8 mi). 12 miles of mapped trail cross Byron Township, 0.3 per square mile of land. 3% of Byron Township’s land is conserved, about 651 acres.
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns · #395 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
651 acres · of 36.7 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
287 ac
45 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
65%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.3 mi
0.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
2 boat launches
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Byron Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Byron Township is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns, #395 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 Byron Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land45 acres of park per 1,000 residents (287 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13A−Parks 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 61%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 49%
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
The longest trail network is Howard Colman Hall Creek Preserve, with 6.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Riverside Park
Park
8 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Howard D. Colman Dells Nature Preserve
Managed by Natural Land Institute
24 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 5 parks & preserves
Howard Colman Hall Creek Preserve313 acres · 6.8 mi of trail · Byron Forest Preserve District
DirectionsRiverside Park8 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Sunshine Park5 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsHoward D. Colman Dells Nature Preserve24 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Natural Land Institute
DirectionsWayside Park4 acres
Who protects it
651 conserved acres
3% of Byron Township’s land. Who manages Byron Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency502 ac
State conservation233 ac
State natural resources100 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits37 ac
Town or city17 ac
State Conservation Area · 312 acConservation Easement · 238 acUnknown · 227 acForest Stewardship Easement · 89 acLocal Park · 17 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 89 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 12 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Howard Colman Hall Creek Preserve State Conservation Area | Regional agency | 275 | Closed |
| Barrick Oaks Homestead Presreve Unknown | Regional agency | 227 | Open |
| Howard D. Colman Dells Preserve State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 37 | Open |
| Blackhawk Meadow Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Nardi Hills State Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 6 | Unknown |
| Sunshine Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Hamas Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Tiger Town Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Byron Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Byron Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Byron Township
2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
5 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.3 miUnpaved · 7.3 mi
Hall Creek Loop2.1 mi
Bluff Loop1.0 mi
Bridge Loop0.6 mi
Bridge Loop0.3 mi
Red Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
8Tennis
4Pickleball
3Soccer
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 Byron 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 | 15.2 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 34 | 47 | 60 | 72 | 81 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 63 | 47 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 1.6 | 1.7 | 2.4 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 5.2 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 2.0 |
January is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 5.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Byron Township →
Next door
Byron Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Rockford Township51 miMarion Township26 miRockvale Township20 miWinnebago Township15 miByron Township12 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Byron Township | 3% | 0.3 | 45 | 65% | B |
| Marion Township | 2% | 0.6 | 2 | 27% | C |
| Rockvale Township | 6% | 0.6 | 299 | 34% | B+ |
| Winnebago Township | 1% | 0.5 | 37 | 41% | B− |
| Rockford 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 Byron Township
Where can I hike in Byron Township?
The longest trail networks: Howard Colman Hall Creek Preserve, 6.8 miles; Riverside Park, 0.4 miles; Sunshine Park, 0.3 miles; Howard D. Colman Dells Nature Preserve, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Byron Township is conserved land?
3% 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 Byron Township’s trails?
Howard Colman Hall Creek Preserve and Riverside Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Byron Township?
0.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Byron Township?
7,441 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Byron Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 488 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Byron Township have?
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #395 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 Byron 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 →