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COutdoors
Outdoors in Douglas Township

Douglas Township has 117 acres of parks, 9.2 for every 1,000 residents

The biggest trail networks: Evergreen Hollow Park (1.3 mi). 6.1 miles of mapped trail cross Douglas Township, 0.2 per square mile of land. 66% of residents live within a half mile of a park.

Ahead of 32% of U.S. towns · #630 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Conserved land
under 1%
105 acres · of 33.6 sq mi of land
Trails
6.1 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
117 ac
9.2 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
66%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.7 mi
6.7 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Douglas Township have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Douglas Township is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns, #630 of 768 in Illinois. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.

C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Douglas Township’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 32%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 18%
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 Evergreen Hollow Park, with 1.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Evergreen Hollow Park

Park
38 acres1.3 mi of trail
Evergreen Park Tree Path
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Community Park

Managed by Effingham Park District
34 acres
Dogs on leash
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗

Hendelmeyer Park

Managed by Effingham Park District
18 acres
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Bliss Park

Park
4 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Evergreen Hollow Park38 acres · 1.3 mi of trail
Directions
Bliss Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Harmony Playground2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Effingham Park District
Directions
Community Park34 acres · Effingham Park District
Hendelmeyer Park18 acres · Effingham Park District
Directions
Who protects it

105 conserved acres

under 1% of Douglas Township’s land. Who manages Douglas Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

Regional agency88 ac
Town or city16 ac
Local Park · 104 ac
The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Community Park
Local Park
Regional agency37Open
Evergreen Park
Local Park
Regional agency28Open
Hedelmeyer Park
Local Park
Regional agency20Open
General Purpose Playflelds
Local Park
Town or city16Open
Bliss Park
Local Park
Regional agency4Open
Things to do

9 places to go in Douglas Township

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

Public pools in Douglas Township
Lap PoolIn Evergreen Hollow Park
Directions
Trails & water

2 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Unpaved · 0.7 mi
Evergreen Park Tree Path0.7 mi
County Road 1875 North0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports

6.7 miles of bike routes

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

6.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
19Baseball
18Tennis
8Soccer
7Tracks
4Softball
4Football
2Basketball
1Skate park

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 Douglas 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)9.710.711.813.214.314.914.713.712.411.110.09.4
High (°F)374253657584868580685341
Rain (in)2.82.33.35.04.84.94.23.33.03.53.72.7

February is the driest month (2.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.0 inches fall in April, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Douglas Township →

Next door

Douglas Township and its neighbors

Douglas Township has the most mapped trails of the 8 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
Douglas Townshipunder 1%0.2966%C
Teutopolis Townshipunder 1%0.11246%C
Sigel Township— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Summit Townshipunder 1%0.1under 1under 1%D
Effingham2%0.3967%C+
Banner Township— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Watson Townshipunder 1%under 0.1under 120%D
Spring Point Townshipunder 1%under 0.1under 1under 1%D−

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

Questions about parks and trails in Douglas Township

Where can I hike in Douglas Township?

The longest trail networks: Evergreen Hollow Park, 1.3 miles; Bliss Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Douglas 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 Douglas Township’s trails?

OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Community Park (on leash) and Hendelmeyer Park (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in Douglas Township?

6.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 6.7 of off-road paths.

Is there public land near Douglas Township?

2,181 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Douglas Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 117 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Douglas Township have?

Ahead of 32% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #630 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 Douglas 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 →