Prairie Wetland
Park
68 acres1.5 mi of trail
Daryl Cole Trail Network
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Csrbsn · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Channahon
7% of Channahon’s land is conserved, and 98% of residents live within a half mile of a park
829 acres are parks and preserves, 60 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Prairie Wetland (1.5 mi), Central Park (1.3 mi), Arroyo Trails (1.1 mi). 7% of Channahon’s land is conserved, about 791 acres.
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns · #108 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
791 acres · of 16.8 sq mi of land
Trails
7.8 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
829 ac
60 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
24 mi
24 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
4
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Channahon?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Channahon have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Channahon is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #108 of 768 in Illinois. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Channahon’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land60 acres of park per 1,000 residents (829 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home98% of residents within a half mile of a park · IL 88% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 88%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 86%
Water is 7% of Channahon’s area (1 of 18 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 7%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Prairie Wetland, with 1.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Arroyo Trails
Park
106 acres1.1 mi of trail
Arroyo Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 6 parks & preserves
Prairie Wetland68 acres · 1.5 mi of trail
DirectionsCentral Park43 acres · 1.3 mi of trail
DirectionsArroyo Trails106 acres · 1.1 mi of trail
DirectionsLake Chaminwood Preserve3 acres
DirectionsMcKinley Wood Forest Preserve2 acres
DirectionsDiamond Park1 acres
Who protects it
791 conserved acres
7% of Channahon’s land. Water is left out: Channahon has 16.8 square miles of land and 1.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Channahon’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city447 ac
State natural resources334 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits6 ac
Regional agency3 ac
Local Park · 363 acState Recreation Area · 284 acUnknown · 121 acState Conservation Area · 11 acConservation Easement · 6 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois and Michigan Canal State Trail State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 284 | Open |
| Heritage Bluffs Public Golf Club Local Park | Town or city | 168 | Open |
| Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 120 | Open |
| Arroyo Trails Unknown | Town or city | 63 | Open |
| Central Park, Arrowhead Community Center, & Tomahawk Aquatic Center Local Park | Town or city | 38 | Open |
| Briscoe Mounds Unknown | State natural resources | 36 | Open |
| Highlands Overlook Unknown | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Des Plaines State Fish and Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 9 | Open |
| Deer Path Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Ridge Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
16 places to go in Channahon
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Channahon
Henneberry Park
DirectionsPlus 11 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Channahon
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Channahon
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Channahon
1 campground without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.5 miUnpaved · 4.4 mi
Daryl Cole Trail Network1.3 mi
Arroyo Trail1.0 mi
Woodland Trail0.6 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
24 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
24 mi
off-road bike paths
0.4 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Arroyo TrailsBike route
1 miCourts & fields
15Baseball
5Tennis
4Basketball
4Pickleball
1Football
1Soccer
1Beach volleyball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Channahon: 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 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 36 | 48 | 61 | 73 | 82 | 84 | 83 | 77 | 64 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
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 Channahon →
Next door
Channahon and its neighbors
Channahon has the second most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Channahon
Where can I hike in Channahon?
The longest trail networks: Prairie Wetland, 1.5 miles; Central Park, 1.3 miles; Arroyo Trails, 1.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Channahon is conserved land?
7% 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 Channahon’s trails?
Prairie Wetland and Central Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Channahon?
24 miles of bike routes are on the map: 24 of off-road paths and 0.4 of shoulders and shared lanes. Named routes: Arroyo Trails.
Is there public land near Channahon?
31,508 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Channahon or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 902 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Channahon have?
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #108 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 Channahon 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 →