Burning Star State Fish and Wildlife Area
Managed by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
2,302 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
COutdoors
Outdoors in De Soto Township
De Soto Township has 8.7 miles of mapped trails, 0.2 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Burning Star State Fish and Wildlife Area (1.2 mi). 17 acres are parks and preserves, 6.3 per 1,000 residents. 64% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 30% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
65 acres · of 36.5 sq mi of land
Trails
8.7 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
17 ac
6.3 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
64%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.3 mi
0.3 mi lanes
Highest peak
472 ft
Indian Hill
Lakes & rivers
3
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does De Soto Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, De Soto Township is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of De Soto Township’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land6.3 acres of park per 1,000 residents (17 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home64% 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 30%
LessMore
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.
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 Burning Star State Fish and Wildlife Area, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
65 conserved acres
under 1% of De Soto Township’s land. Who manages De Soto Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources60 ac
Private owners5 ac
State conservation4 ac
Conservation Easement · 63 acState Conservation Area · 5 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 60 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faulkner-Franke Pioneer Railroad Prairie Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | Private owners | 5 | Closed |
Things to do
4 places to go in De Soto Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in De Soto Township
De Soto Elementary School Playground
DirectionsPaulette Johnson PlaygroundIn De Soto - Recreation Complex
DirectionsPaulette Johnson PlaygroundIn De Soto - Recreation Complex
DirectionsPeaks in De Soto Township
Indian Hill472 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
3 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
2Baseball
1Basketball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in De Soto 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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 42 | 47 | 57 | 68 | 77 | 85 | 88 | 88 | 81 | 70 | 56 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.9 | 4.2 | 5.3 | 5.2 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 4.2 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 5.3 inches fall in April, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in De Soto Township →
Next door
De Soto Township and its neighbors
De Soto Township has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| De Soto Township | under 1% | 0.2 | 6 | 64% | C |
| Elk Township | 5% | 0.2 | 9 | 23% | C |
| Carbondale Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Somerset Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 72 | 34% | C |
| Hurst | — 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 De Soto Township
Where can I hike in De Soto Township?
The longest trail networks: Burning Star State Fish and Wildlife Area, 1.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of De Soto Township is conserved land?
under 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 De Soto Township’s trails?
Burning Star State Fish and Wildlife Area and De Soto - Recreation Complex don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in De Soto Township?
0.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near De Soto Township?
11,385 acres of parks and open public land lie inside De Soto Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 74 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does De Soto Township have?
Ahead of 30% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 De Soto 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 →