Potowatomi Forest Preserve
Nature preserve
334 acres4.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Franklin Township
Franklin Township has 24 miles of mapped trails, 0.7 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Potowatomi Forest Preserve (4.3 mi), The Prairie at Walnut Grove (0.9 mi), MacQueen Forest Preserve (0.8 mi). 6% of Franklin Township’s land is conserved, about 1,265 acres. 11 acres are parks and preserves, 4.7 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
1,265 acres · of 35.9 sq mi of land
Trails
24 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
11 ac
4.7 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
69%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Franklin Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Franklin Township is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Franklin Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (24 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land4.7 acres of park per 1,000 residents (11 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13CParks close to home69% 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 56%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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 Potowatomi Forest Preserve, with 4.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
The Prairie at Walnut Grove
Nature preserve
10 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
MacQueen Forest Preserve
Nature preserve
52 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Kishwaukee River State Fish and Wildlife Area
Managed by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
450 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
1,265 conserved acres
6% of Franklin Township’s land. Who manages Franklin Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources837 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits417 ac
Regional agency295 ac
Town or city11 ac
Unknown · 837 acConservation Easement · 713 acLocal Park · 10 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 417 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kishwaukee River State Natural Area Unknown | State natural resources | 541 | Open |
| Potawatomi Woods Unknown | Regional agency | 295 | Open |
| Franklin Township Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Unnamed Property Unknown | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in Franklin Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Franklin Township
Hiawatha Elementary Playground
DirectionsDog parks in Franklin Township
Off-Leash Dog Area (Except Ap1-July15)In Potowatomi Forest Preserve
DirectionsFishing spots in Franklin Township
Fishing AllowedIn MacQueen Forest Preserve
DirectionsPicnic areas in Franklin Township
5 picnic areas without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
5Baseball
1Football
1Basketball
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 Franklin 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 | 15.2 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 34 | 46 | 60 | 71 | 80 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 63 | 47 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 1.7 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 1.9 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 5.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Franklin Township →
Next door
Franklin Township and its neighbors
Franklin Township has the 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Township | 6% | 0.7 | 5 | 69% | B |
| Monroe Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 1 | 25% | D |
| Kingston Township | 3% | 0.5 | 123 | 62% | B+ |
| Flora Township | under 1% | 0.4 | 3 | 52% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Franklin Township
Where can I hike in Franklin Township?
The longest trail networks: Potowatomi Forest Preserve, 4.3 miles; The Prairie at Walnut Grove, 0.9 miles; MacQueen Forest Preserve, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Franklin Township is conserved land?
6% 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 Franklin Township’s trails?
Potowatomi Forest Preserve and The Prairie at Walnut Grove don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Franklin Township?
8,141 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Franklin Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 558 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Franklin Township have?
Ahead of 56% 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 Franklin 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 →