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Camp Butler National CemeteryCamp Butler National Cemetery · Photo: Robert Lawton · CC BY-SA 2.5
COutdoors
Outdoors in Clear Lake Township

5% of Clear Lake Township’s land is conserved: 1,113 acres

1.4 miles of mapped trail cross Clear Lake Township. 45 acres are parks and preserves, 5.4 per 1,000 residents. 49% of residents live within a half mile of a park.

Ahead of 31% of U.S. towns · #642 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Conserved land
5%
1,113 acres · of 33.7 sq mi of land
Trails
1.4 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
45 ac
5.4 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
49%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.1 mi
0.1 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
5
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Clear Lake Township have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Clear Lake Township is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns, #642 of 768 in Illinois. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.

C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Clear Lake Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land5.4 acres of park per 1,000 residents (45 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13CParks close to home49% of residents within a half mile of a park · IL 88% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 31%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 16%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. 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.

1234
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 Field of Dreams Park, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Field of Dreams Park

Managed by Village of Riverton
19 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Veterans Memorial Park

Park
3 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Spaulding Park

Park
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Field of Dreams Park19 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Village of Riverton
Directions
Veterans Memorial Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Directions
Center Park8 acres
Directions
Spaulding Park3 acres
Westview Park1 acres
Who protects it

1,113 conserved acres

5% of Clear Lake Township’s land. Who manages Clear Lake Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

Regional Water Districts1,030 ac
State natural resources40 ac
Town or city31 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits8 ac
Private owners3 ac
Conservation Easement · 1,038 acUnknown · 40 acLocal Recreation Area · 20 acLocal Park · 15 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,038 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Rail Splitter State Habitat Area
Unknown
State natural resources39Open
City Hall Ball Parks
Local Recreation Area
Town or city20Open
Center Park
Local Park
Town or city8Open
Spaulding Park
Local Park
Town or city4Open
Veterans Memorial Park
Local Park
Private owners3Open
Miscellaneous Property
Unknown
State natural resources1Open
Things to do

16 places to go in Clear Lake Township

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Playgrounds in Clear Lake Township
Lincoln Place Playground
Directions

Plus 6 playgrounds without a name on the map.

Trails & water

5 lakes & rivers

Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Clear LakeShaft PondpondSangamon RiverSouth Fork Sangamon RiverSugar Creek
Biking & sports

0.1 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

0.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
6Baseball
2Tennis
2Pickleball
2Football
2Soccer
1Beach volleyball
1Basketball
1Volleyball

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

1 place on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.

History →
Camp Butler National CemeterySite · listed 1997
About it
When to get out

August is the best month for walking in Clear Lake 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.610.611.813.214.415.014.713.712.411.19.99.4
High (°F)354152657584868579675240
Rain (in)2.12.02.74.24.54.43.83.43.13.23.02.1

February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.5 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Clear Lake Township →

Next door

Clear Lake Township and its neighbors

Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Springfield47 miCapital Township46 miSpringfield Township3.1 miClear Lake Township1.4 miMechanicsburg Township1.4 miWilliams Township1.2 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Clear Lake Township5%under 0.1549%C
Capital Township6%0.81973%B+
Springfield6%0.81972%B+
Williams Township1%under 0.12351%C
Springfield Township4%0.21682%B
Mechanicsburg Townshipunder 1%under 0.1563%C−

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in Clear Lake Township

Where can I hike in Clear Lake Township?

The longest trail networks: Field of Dreams Park, 0.1 miles; Veterans Memorial Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Clear Lake Township is conserved land?

5% 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 Clear Lake Township’s trails?

Field of Dreams Park and Center Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in Clear Lake Township?

0.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of off-road paths.

Is there public land near Clear Lake Township?

3,656 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Clear Lake Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 86 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Clear Lake Township have?

Ahead of 31% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #642 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 Clear Lake Township neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →