Essex Township has 1,655 acres of parks, 1,041 for every 1,000 residents
7% of Essex Township’s land is conserved, about 1,648 acres. 15% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 8.2 miles of mapped trail cross Essex Township, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Essex Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Essex Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Essex Township is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park 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.
1,648 conserved acres
7% of Essex Township’s land. Who manages Essex Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mazonia-Braidwood State Fish and Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 1,648 | Open |
6 places to go in Essex Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
6 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
The best walking months in Essex 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 | 37 | 49 | 62 | 73 | 82 | 85 | 83 | 78 | 65 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 2.6 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Essex Township →
Essex Township and its neighbors
Essex Township has the second most mapped trails of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essex Township | 7% | 0.2 | 1,041 | 15% | B |
| Salina Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 35 | 1% | C− |
| Greenfield Township | 7% | 0.5 | 984 | 1% | B |
| Norton 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 Essex Township
How much of Essex Township is conserved land?
7% 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 Essex Township?
10,436 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Essex Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,655 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Essex Township have?
Ahead of 61% 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 Essex 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 →