Rush Creek Conservation Area
Managed by McHenry County Conservation District
487 acres5.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Dunham Township
Dunham Township has 7.6 miles of mapped trails, 0.2 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Rush Creek Conservation Area (5.3 mi), Gateway Nature Park (0.6 mi). 1% of Dunham Township’s land is conserved, about 247 acres. 43 acres are parks and preserves, 15 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 42% of U.S. towns · #568 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
247 acres · of 35.9 sq mi of land
Trails
7.6 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
43 ac
15 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
67%
of residents within ½ mile
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Dunham Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Dunham Township is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns, #568 of 768 in Illinois. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Dunham Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land15 acres of park per 1,000 residents (43 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13BParks close to home67% 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 42%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 26%
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 Rush Creek Conservation Area, with 5.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Beck's Woods
Managed by McHenry County Conservation District
45 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
247 conserved acres
1% of Dunham Township’s land. Who manages Dunham Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency168 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits100 ac
Private owners7 ac
Town or city6 ac
Local Resource Management Area · 114 acConservation Easement · 83 acLocal Conservation Area · 51 acUnknown · 16 acPrivate Conservation · 7 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 50 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 10 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rush Creek 1 Local Resource Management Area | Regional agency | 114 | Unknown |
| Community Research Forest Conservation Area Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 51 | Open |
| Harvard Gateway Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 16 | Open |
| Piscasaw Creek Private Conservation | Private owners | 7 | Restricted |
| Country Brook Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Chemung RR Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 3 | Unknown |
| Shadow Creek Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in Dunham Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Dunham Township
Playground
DirectionsPlus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Fishing spots in Dunham Township
1 fishing spot without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in Dunham Township
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Dunham Township
2 campgrounds without a name on the map.
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
2Tennis
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 Dunham 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 33 | 45 | 59 | 70 | 80 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 62 | 46 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 1.7 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.9 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.9 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Dunham Township →
Next door
Dunham Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Marengo Township15 miHartland Township11 miBoone Township8.6 miDunham Township7.6 miChemung Township2.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunham Township | 1% | 0.2 | 15 | 67% | C+ |
| Chemung Township | 1% | 0.1 | 16 | 83% | C+ |
| Boone Township | 1% | 0.4 | 50 | 3% | C+ |
| Hartland Township | 11% | 0.3 | 842 | 19% | B+ |
| Marengo 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 Dunham Township
Where can I hike in Dunham Township?
The longest trail networks: Rush Creek Conservation Area, 5.3 miles; Gateway Nature Park, 0.6 miles; Beck's Woods, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Dunham Township is conserved land?
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 Dunham Township’s trails?
Rush Creek Conservation Area and Gateway Nature Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Dunham Township?
8,202 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Dunham Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 43 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Dunham Township have?
Ahead of 42% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #568 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 Dunham 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 →