West Side Park
Park
10 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Erienna Township
Erienna Township has 344 acres of parks, 131 for every 1,000 residents
79% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 7.4 miles of mapped trail cross Erienna Township, 0.4 per square mile of land. 3% of Erienna Township’s land is conserved, about 341 acres.
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
341 acres · of 20.8 sq mi of land
Trails
7.4 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
344 ac
131 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
79%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
8.6 mi
8.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Erienna Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Erienna Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Erienna Township is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Erienna Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land131 acres of park per 1,000 residents (344 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13AParks close to home79% 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 70%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. 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 West Side Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
341 conserved acres
3% of Erienna Township’s land. Who manages Erienna Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources332 ac
Town or city9 ac
State Recreation Area · 332 acLocal Recreation Area · 9 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois and Michigan Canal State Trail State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 332 | Open |
| West Side Park & Skate Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 9 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Erienna Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Erienna Township
West Side PlaygroundIn West Side Park
DirectionsBoat launches in Erienna Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
8.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
8.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Baseball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Erienna 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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 36 | 48 | 62 | 73 | 82 | 85 | 83 | 77 | 65 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Erienna Township →
Next door
Erienna Township and its neighbors
Erienna Township has the most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Erienna Township7.4 miNorman Township5.1 miMorris3.0 miWauponsee Township1.8 miMorris Township1.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erienna Township | 3% | 0.4 | 131 | 79% | B+ |
| Norman Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Wauponsee Township | 5% | 0.1 | 307 | 59% | B |
| Morris Township | 7% | 0.5 | 25 | 99%+ | A |
| Morris | 2% | 0.2 | 13 | 91% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Erienna Township
Where can I hike in Erienna Township?
The longest trail networks: West Side Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Erienna Township is conserved land?
3% 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 Erienna Township’s trails?
West Side Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Erienna Township?
8.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 8.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Erienna Township?
5,841 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Erienna Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 344 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Erienna Township have?
Ahead of 70% 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 Erienna 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 →