Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park
Managed by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
151 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Photo: Farragutful · CC BY-SA 4.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Colona Township
Colona Township has 159 acres of parks, 24 for every 1,000 residents
0.6 miles of mapped trail cross Colona Township. 84% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2% of Colona Township’s land is conserved, about 439 acres.
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns · #525 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
439 acres · of 28.9 sq mi of land
Trails
0.6 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
159 ac
24 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
84%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.9 mi
4.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Colona Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Colona Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Colona Township is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns, #525 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 Colona Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land24 acres of park per 1,000 residents (159 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home84% 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 47%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 32%
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 Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lundeen's Landing
Park
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
W. Gerard Huiskamp Family Park
Park
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 9 parks & preserves
Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park151 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Illinois Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsTimbrook Field8 acres
DirectionsLundeen's Landing6 acres
W. Gerard Huiskamp Family Park6 acres
Gailliaert's Park4 acres
DirectionsTy Massey Memorial Ball Diamond4 acres
DirectionsSullivan Park4 acres
Old Colona Park1 acres
Colona Memorial Park1 acres
Who protects it
439 conserved acres
2% of Colona Township’s land. Who manages Colona Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners225 ac
Other state land111 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)71 ac
Town or city22 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits5 ac
Regional agency4 ac
Local Recreation Area · 225 acState Recreation Area · 111 acConservation Easement · 71 acLocal Park · 27 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 5 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 71 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oakwood Country Club Local Recreation Area | Private owners | 225 | Open |
| Hennepin Canal State Recreation Area | Other state land | 111 | Open |
| Sullivan Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| W Gerard Huiskamp Family Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Schadt's Rock River Camp 2 Private Recreation or Education | Land trusts & nonprofits | 5 | Open |
| Gailaert Field & Park Local Park | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
| Ty Massey Memorial Ball Diamond Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| 8th Street Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Old Colona Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Colona Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in Colona Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Colona Township
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Colona Township
Rock River-Hennepin CanalIn Timbrook Field
DirectionsPlus 2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.3 mi
off-road bike paths
0.7 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
5Baseball
4Tennis
1Basketball
1Beach volleyball
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 Colona 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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 35 | 48 | 62 | 73 | 82 | 84 | 83 | 76 | 64 | 48 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 1.5 | 1.7 | 2.5 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 4.8 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 2.8 | 2.4 | 2.0 |
January is the driest month (1.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.8 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Colona Township →
Next door
Colona Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Hanna Township4.2 miHampton Township1.5 miWestern Township0.8 miCoal Valley Township0.7 miColona Township0.6 miEdford Township0.5 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colona Township | 2% | under 0.1 | 24 | 84% | B− |
| Hampton Township | 5% | under 0.1 | 31 | 89% | B |
| Western Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 11 | 59% | C− |
| Hanna Township | under 1% | 0.2 | 17 | 14% | C |
| Coal Valley Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Edford 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 Colona Township
Where can I hike in Colona Township?
The longest trail networks: Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Colona Township is conserved land?
2% 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 Colona Township’s trails?
Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park and Timbrook Field don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Colona Township?
4.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.3 of off-road paths and 0.7 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Colona Township?
8,646 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Colona Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 159 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Colona Township have?
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #525 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 Colona 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 →