Nick Saelens Memorial Park
Park
31 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
COutdoors
Outdoors in Durand Township
Durand Township has 70 acres of parks, 29 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Nick Saelens Memorial Park (1.1 mi). 61% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1.1 miles of mapped trail cross Durand Township.
Ahead of 33% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
79 acres · of 29.6 sq mi of land
Trails
1.1 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
70 ac
29 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
61%
of residents within ½ mile
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Durand Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Durand Township is ahead of 33% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Durand Township’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land29 acres of park per 1,000 residents (70 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home61% 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 33%
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 Nick Saelens Memorial Park, with 1.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hartley Memorial Woods Nature Preserve
Park
38 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
79 conserved acres
under 1% of Durand Township’s land. Who manages Durand Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency41 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits38 ac
State conservation38 ac
Conservation Easement · 76 acState Conservation Area · 41 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 38 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hartley Memorial Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | Regional agency | 41 | Closed |
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
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Durand Township: April and September
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) | 28 | 33 | 45 | 59 | 71 | 80 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 62 | 46 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 1.6 | 1.6 | 2.3 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 5.6 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 2.0 |
January is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Durand Township →
Next door
Durand Township and its neighbors
Durand Township has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Pecatonica Township14 miDurand Township1.1 miRock Run Township1.0 miLaona Township0.7 miHarrison Township0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Durand Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 29 | 61% | C |
| Pecatonica Township | 11% | 0.4 | 75 | 72% | A− |
| Laona Township | 7% | under 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Rock Run Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 6 | 42% | D |
| Harrison 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 Durand Township
Where can I hike in Durand Township?
The longest trail networks: Nick Saelens Memorial Park, 1.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Durand 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 Durand Township’s trails?
Nick Saelens Memorial Park and Hartley Memorial Woods Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Durand Township?
2,379 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Durand Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 70 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Durand Township have?
Ahead of 33% 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 Durand 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 →