Few parks or trails are on the map in Dorchester Township
38 acres are parks and preserves, 23 per 1,000 residents. 1.7 miles of mapped trail cross Dorchester Township. 40% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 27% of U.S. towns. What drives it
How much outdoors does Dorchester Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Dorchester Township is ahead of 27% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
102 conserved acres
under 1% of Dorchester Township’s land. Who manages Dorchester Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stauton Country Club Private Park | Private owners | 65 | Open |
| Shady Oak Park Local Park | Town or city | 37 | Open |
August is the best month for walking in Dorchester 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) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 43 | 53 | 66 | 75 | 84 | 87 | 86 | 80 | 68 | 53 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 2.5 | 2.2 | 3.2 | 4.7 | 5.0 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 2.5 |
February is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 5.0 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Dorchester Township →
Dorchester Township and its neighbors
Dorchester Township has the second most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dorchester Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 23 | 40% | C |
| Gillespie Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Staunton 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 Dorchester Township
How much of Dorchester 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.
Is there public land near Dorchester Township?
1,378 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Dorchester Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 38 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Dorchester Township have?
Ahead of 27% 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 Dorchester Township neighbors.
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 →