Prairie State Eagle Refuge State Natural Area
Nature preserve
213 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Barry Gilfry from Cornpatch, Iowa · CC BY-SA 2.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Hamilton
19% of Hamilton’s land is conserved, and 99% of residents live within a half mile of a park
19% of Hamilton’s land is conserved, about 432 acres. 284 acres are parks and preserves, 105 per 1,000 residents. 0.5 miles of mapped trail cross Hamilton, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns · #110 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
19%
432 acres · of 3.6 sq mi of land
Trails
0.5 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
284 ac
105 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
2 beaches · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Hamilton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hamilton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hamilton is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns, #110 of 768 in Illinois. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Hamilton’s overall grade.
Conserved land19% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land105 acres of park per 1,000 residents (284 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13AParks close to home99% of residents within a half mile of a park · IL 88% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 87%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 86%
Water is 34% of Hamilton’s area (2 of 5 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 13%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Cedar Glen State Natural Area
Nature preserve
151 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Wildcat Springs Park
Park
35 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Prairie State Eagle Refuge State Natural Area213 acres
Cedar Glen State Natural Area151 acres
Wildcat Springs Park35 acres
City Park9 acres
DirectionsOakwood Park1 acres
Who protects it
432 conserved acres
19% of Hamilton’s land. Water is left out: Hamilton has 3.6 square miles of land and 1.8 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Hamilton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources390 ac
State conservation162 ac
Town or city40 ac
Regional agency3 ac
State Conservation Area · 390 acConservation Easement · 162 acLocal Park · 40 acLocal Recreation Area · 3 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prairie State Eagle Refuge State Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 220 | Open |
| Cedar Glen State Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 164 | Open |
| Wildcat Springs Park Local Park | Town or city | 30 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Montebello State Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 5 | Open |
| Hamilton Baseball Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 3 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Hamilton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Hamilton
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Public pools in Hamilton
Hamilton Aquatic CenterIn Wildcat Springs Park
DirectionsBoat launches in Hamilton
Hamilton Public Boat Ramp
DirectionsTrails & 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
3Baseball
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Hamilton
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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 39 | 51 | 64 | 74 | 83 | 86 | 85 | 78 | 66 | 51 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 1.7 | 1.9 | 2.6 | 4.1 | 5.2 | 5.0 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 2.6 | 2.0 |
January is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.2 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Hamilton →
Next door
Hamilton and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton | 19% | 0.1 | 105 | 99% | A |
| Montebello Township | 2% | under 0.1 | 95 | 82% | B− |
| Rocky Run-Wilcox 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 Hamilton
How much of Hamilton is conserved land?
19% 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 Hamilton’s trails?
Prairie State Eagle Refuge State Natural Area and Cedar Glen State Natural Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Hamilton?
4,956 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hamilton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 289 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Hamilton have?
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #110 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 Hamilton 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 →