Lincoln Trail Homestead State Park
Nature preserve
66 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Harristown Township
Harristown Township has 76 acres of parks, 42 for every 1,000 residents
26% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4.4 miles of mapped trail cross Harristown Township, 0.2 per square mile of land. 2% of Harristown Township’s land is conserved, about 395 acres.
Ahead of 42% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
395 acres · of 28.1 sq mi of land
Trails
4.4 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
76 ac
42 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
26%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Harristown Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Harristown Township is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Harristown Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land42 acres of park per 1,000 residents (76 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home26% 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 42%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
395 conserved acres
2% of Harristown Township’s land. Who manages Harristown Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional Water Districts318 ac
State natural resources56 ac
County21 ac
Conservation Easement · 318 acState Recreation Area · 56 acLocal Park · 21 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 318 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln Trail Homestead State Memorial State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 56 | Open |
| Macon County Memorial Park Local Park | County | 21 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Harristown Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Harristown Township
1 playground 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
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
2Baseball
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 Harristown 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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 35 | 40 | 52 | 64 | 74 | 83 | 86 | 84 | 79 | 67 | 52 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.8 | 4.1 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 2.3 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Harristown Township →
Next door
Harristown Township and its neighbors
Harristown Township has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Decatur Township18 miHarristown Township4.4 miNiantic Township2.5 miIllini Township0.3 miBlue Mound Township0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harristown Township | 2% | 0.2 | 42 | 26% | C+ |
| Blue Mound Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Niantic Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Illini Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 2 | 75% | D |
| Decatur Township | 13% | 0.6 | 46 | 97% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Harristown Township
How much of Harristown Township is conserved land?
2% 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 Harristown Township’s trails?
Lincoln Trail Homestead State Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Harristown Township?
5,133 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Harristown Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 76 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Harristown Township have?
Ahead of 42% 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 Harristown 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 →