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A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Cunningham Township

7% of Cunningham Township’s land is conserved, and 98% of residents live within a half mile of a park

The biggest trail networks: Meadowbrook Park (1.8 mi), Weaver Park (1.4 mi), University of Illinois Arboretum (1.2 mi). 8.5 miles of mapped trail cross Cunningham Township, 0.7 per square mile of land. 7% of Cunningham Township’s land is conserved, about 568 acres.

Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns · #148 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Conserved land
7%
568 acres · of 11.8 sq mi of land
Trails
8.5 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
647 ac
16 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
42 mi
12 mi lanes · 28 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1

What kind of outdoors town is Cunningham Township?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Cunningham Township have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Cunningham Township is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #148 of 768 in Illinois. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.

A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Cunningham Township’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 84%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 81%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ 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.

12345678
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 Meadowbrook Park, with 1.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Meadowbrook Park

Managed by Urbana Park District
129 acres1.8 mi of trail
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Weaver Park

Managed by Urbana Park District
60 acres1.4 mi of trail
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

University of Illinois Arboretum

Managed by College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Sciences
37 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Busey Woods

Nature preserve
35 acres0.9 mi of trail
Northwoods TrailSouthwoods TrailWildflower Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Crystal Lake Park

Managed by Urbana Park District
86 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Prairie Park

Managed by Urbana Park District
38 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Illini Grove

Park
7 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

John Bardeen Engineering Quadrangle

Park
2 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
All 25 parks & preserves
Meadowbrook Park129 acres · 1.8 mi of trail · Urbana Park District
Directions
Weaver Park60 acres · 1.4 mi of trail · Urbana Park District
Directions
University of Illinois Arboretum37 acres · 1.2 mi of trail · College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Sciences
Directions
Busey Woods35 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
Directions
Crystal Lake Park86 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · Urbana Park District
Directions
Prairie Park38 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Urbana Park District
Directions
Illini Grove7 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Directions
John Bardeen Engineering Quadrangle2 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Directions
Beckman Quadrangle2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Directions
Hallene Gateway Plaza2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Directions
Carle Park11 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Urbana Park District
Directions
Crestview Park6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Urbana Park District
Savannah Green Resident's Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
AMBUCS Park24 acres · Urbana Park District
Directions
Lohmann Park14 acres · Urbana Park District
Directions
Chief Shemauger Park14 acres · Urbana Park District
Directions
Blair Park12 acres · Urbana Park District
South Ridge Park11 acres · Urbana Park District
King Park8 acres · Urbana Park District
Directions
Larson Park5 acres · Urbana Park District
Victory Park5 acres · Urbana Park District
Directions
Canaday Park4 acres · Urbana Park District
Directions
Leal Park3 acres · Urbana Park District
Directions
Webber Street Park1 acres
Directions
Sunnycrest Park1 acres · Urbana Park District
Who protects it

568 conserved acres

7% of Cunningham Township’s land. Who manages Cunningham Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

Town or city565 ac
Private owners2 ac
Local Park · 544 acUnknown · 21 acLocal Recreation Area · 2 ac
The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Meadowbrook Park
Local Park
Town or city128Open
Crystal Lake Park
Local Park
Town or city118Open
Perkins Road/ Judge Webber Park
Local Park
Town or city85Open
Weaver Park
Local Park
Town or city61Open
Ambucs Park
Local Park
Town or city23Open
Brookens Grounds
Unknown
Town or city21Open
Prairie Park
Local Park
Town or city20Open
Lohmann Park
Local Park
Town or city14Open
Chief Shemauger Park
Local Park
Town or city13Open
Carle Park
Local Park
Town or city11Open

5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.

Things to do

53 places to go in Cunningham Township

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

Playgrounds in Cunningham Township
Blair Park PlaygroundIn Blair Park
Directions
Challenge CourseIn Blair Park
Directions
King Park PlaygroundIn King Park
Directions
Phillips Recreation Center Playground
Directions
PrairiePlayIn Meadowbrook Park
Directions
Sunnycrest Tot LotIn Sunnycrest Park
Directions
Victory Park PlaygroundIn Victory Park
Directions

41 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.

Trails & water

3 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Unpaved · 3.9 mi
Northwoods Trail0.3 mi
Southwoods Trail0.2 mi
Wildflower Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports

42 miles of bike routes

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

12 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
28 mi
off-road bike paths
1.8 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
41Tennis
29Basketball
21Soccer
17Baseball
10Pickleball
9Tracks
8Softball
4Beach volleyball

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 Cunningham 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)9.610.611.813.214.415.014.813.712.411.19.99.3
High (°F)343951647483858479665139
Rain (in)2.22.02.64.04.44.64.33.33.23.33.12.3

February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Cunningham Township →

Next door

Cunningham Township and its neighbors

Cunningham Township has the most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.

TownConserved
of land
Trail mi
per sq mi
Park acres
per 1,000
Near a park
½ mile
Outdoors
Cunningham Township7%0.71698%A−
Urbana7%0.71698%A−
Urbana Township2%0.23186%B
Somer Township— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Champaign5%0.2998%B
Champaign City Township5%0.2998%B

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

Questions about parks and trails in Cunningham Township

Where can I hike in Cunningham Township?

The longest trail networks: Meadowbrook Park, 1.8 miles; Weaver Park, 1.4 miles; University of Illinois Arboretum, 1.2 miles; Busey Woods, 0.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Cunningham Township 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 Cunningham Township’s trails?

OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Meadowbrook Park (on leash), Weaver Park (on leash), Crystal Lake Park (on leash) and Prairie Park (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in Cunningham Township?

42 miles of bike routes are on the map: 12 of painted or protected lanes, 28 of off-road paths and 1.8 of shoulders and shared lanes.

Is there public land near Cunningham Township?

3,643 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Cunningham Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 652 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Cunningham Township have?

Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #148 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 Cunningham 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 →