Beck's Woods
Managed by McHenry County Conservation District
196 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Chemung Township
Chemung Township has 142 acres of parks, 16 for every 1,000 residents
83% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2.9 miles of mapped trail cross Chemung Township, 0.1 per square mile of land. 1% of Chemung Township’s land is conserved, about 292 acres.
Ahead of 43% of U.S. towns · #559 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
292 acres · of 33.0 sq mi of land
Trails
2.9 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
142 ac
16 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
83%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.5 mi
1.5 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Chemung Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Chemung Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Chemung Township is ahead of 43% of U.S. towns, #559 of 768 in Illinois. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Chemung Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4CPark land16 acres of park per 1,000 residents (142 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13BParks close to home83% 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 43%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 27%
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
The longest trail network is Beck's Woods, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 6 parks & preserves
Beck's Woods196 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · McHenry County Conservation District
DirectionsMilky Way Park47 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsNorthfield Avenue Park8 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsMary D. Ayer Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsLions Park8 acres
DirectionsMoose Athletic Field7 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
292 conserved acres
1% of Chemung Township’s land. Who manages Chemung Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits137 ac
Town or city105 ac
Regional agency36 ac
Private owners15 ac
Conservation Easement · 137 acLocal Park · 105 acLocal Conservation Area · 35 acPrivate Conservation · 15 acLocal Other or Unknown · 2 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 137 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 12 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milky Way Park Local Park | Town or city | 45 | Open |
| Beck's Woods 2 Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 35 | Unknown |
| Lions Park Local Park | Town or city | 32 | Open |
| Piscasaw Creek Private Conservation | Private owners | 15 | Restricted |
| Park Pointe Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Northfield Avenue Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Moose Field Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Chemung RR Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 2 | Unknown |
| Mary D Ayer Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Jaycee Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
17 places to go in Chemung Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Chemung Township
Community Playground
DirectionsPlus 16 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
10Baseball
6Soccer
2Equestrian
2Tennis
1Basketball
1Football
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 Chemung 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) | 28 | 33 | 45 | 58 | 70 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 61 | 46 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 1.7 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Chemung Township →
Next door
Chemung 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chemung Township | 1% | 0.1 | 16 | 83% | C+ |
| Dunham Township | 1% | 0.2 | 15 | 67% | C+ |
| LeRoy Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Alden Township | 9% | 0.4 | 348 | 25% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Chemung Township
Where can I hike in Chemung Township?
The longest trail networks: Beck's Woods, 0.4 miles; Milky Way Park, 0.4 miles; Northfield Avenue Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Chemung Township is conserved land?
1% 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 Chemung Township’s trails?
Beck's Woods and Milky Way Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Chemung Township?
1.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Chemung Township?
5,865 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Chemung Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 142 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Chemung Township have?
Ahead of 43% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #559 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 Chemung 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 →