Jaycee Park
Park
44 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainB−Outdoors
Outdoors in Carthage Township
Carthage Township has 64 acres of parks, 22 for every 1,000 residents
1.3 miles of mapped trail cross Carthage Township. 74% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3% of Carthage Township’s land is conserved, about 722 acres.
Ahead of 45% of U.S. towns · #544 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
722 acres · of 40.2 sq mi of land
Trails
1.3 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
64 ac
22 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
74%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Carthage Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Carthage Township is ahead of 45% of U.S. towns, #544 of 768 in Illinois. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Carthage Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land22 acres of park per 1,000 residents (64 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home74% 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 45%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 29%
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
WOW Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
722 conserved acres
3% of Carthage Township’s land. Who manages Carthage Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional Water Districts680 ac
Town or city42 ac
Conservation Easement · 680 acLocal Park · 31 acLocal Recreation Area · 11 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 680 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jaycee Park Local Park | Town or city | 31 | Open |
| Joe Grate Sports Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 11 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Carthage Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Carthage Township
World of Wonders ParkIn WOW Park
DirectionsPlus 1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & 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
3Baseball
1Football
1Tracks
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Carthage 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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 39 | 51 | 64 | 74 | 83 | 86 | 84 | 78 | 65 | 51 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 1.7 | 1.9 | 2.5 | 4.0 | 5.1 | 4.9 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 2.0 |
January is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.1 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Carthage Township →
Next door
Carthage Township and its neighbors
Carthage Township has the second most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carthage Township | 3% | under 0.1 | 22 | 74% | B− |
| Prairie 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 Carthage Township
How much of Carthage 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 Carthage Township’s trails?
Jaycee Park and Joe Grate Sports Complex don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Carthage Township?
414 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Carthage Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 64 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Carthage Township have?
Ahead of 45% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #544 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 Carthage 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 →