Hamel Community Park
Managed by Village of Hamel
8 acres
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: TCP04 · CC BY 4.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Hamel Township
Hamel Township has 83 acres of parks, 30 for every 1,000 residents
44% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4.3 miles of mapped trail cross Hamel Township, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 34% of U.S. towns · #622 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
102 acres · of 36.3 sq mi of land
Trails
4.3 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
83 ac
30 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
44%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
11 mi
11 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hamel Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hamel Township is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns, #622 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 Hamel Township’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4CPark land30 acres of park per 1,000 residents (83 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home44% of residents within a half mile of a park · IL 88% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 34%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 19%
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
102 conserved acres
under 1% of Hamel Township’s land. Who manages Hamel Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
USDA easements (NRCS)55 ac
County39 ac
Town or city8 ac
Conservation Easement · 55 acLocal Park · 47 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 55 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mct Quercus Grove Trail Local Park | County | 39 | Open |
| Hamel Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Hamel Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Hamel Township
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Hamel Township
1 dog park 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
11 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
11 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Beach volleyball
1Tennis
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Hamel 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) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 44 | 54 | 66 | 76 | 84 | 88 | 86 | 80 | 68 | 54 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 2.2 | 3.3 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 2.6 |
February is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 5.0 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Hamel Township →
Next door
Hamel Township and its neighbors
Hamel Township has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Fort Russell Township5.6 miHamel Township4.3 miPin Oak Township2.2 miAlhambra Township0.7 miOmphghent Township0.4 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamel Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 30 | 44% | C |
| Omphghent Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 6 | 43% | D |
| Fort Russell Township | 1% | 0.2 | 5 | 43% | C− |
| Pin Oak Township | 2% | 0.1 | 73 | 58% | B− |
| Alhambra Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 56 | 47% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Hamel Township
How much of Hamel 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 Hamel Township’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Hamel Community Park (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Hamel Township?
11 miles of bike routes are on the map: 11 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Hamel Township?
3,168 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hamel Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 83 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Hamel Township have?
Ahead of 34% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #622 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 Hamel 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 →