Donnelley State Fish and Wildlife Area
Managed by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
554 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainA−Outdoors
Outdoors in Hennepin Township
Hennepin Township has 1,775 acres of parks, 1,231 for every 1,000 residents
17% of Hennepin Township’s land is conserved, about 4,588 acres. 7.7 miles of mapped trail cross Hennepin Township, 0.2 per square mile of land. 69% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 81% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
17%
4,588 acres · of 41.4 sq mi of land
Trails
7.7 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,775 ac
1,231 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
69%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
3
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Hennepin Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hennepin Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hennepin Township is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Hennepin Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land17% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land1,231 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,775 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13A+Parks 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 81%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ 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.
Who protects it
4,588 conserved acres
17% of Hennepin Township’s land. Who manages Hennepin Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits3,266 ac
Regional Water Districts2,286 ac
State natural resources560 ac
Private owners357 ac
Regional agency272 ac
State conservation32 ac
Town or city19 ac
Private Recreation or Education · 2,775 acConservation Easement · 2,452 acPrivate Park · 596 acState Conservation Area · 560 acUnknown · 285 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 248 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sue and Wes Dixon Waterfowl Refuge at Hennepin & Hopper Lakes Private Recreation or Education | Land trusts & nonprofits | 2,775 | Open |
| Donnelley State Fish and Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 560 | Open |
| Natural Lands Area Unknown | Regional agency | 272 | Open |
| Illinois Valley Club Private Park | Private owners | 240 | Open |
| Swan Lake Club Private Park | Land trusts & nonprofits | 236 | Open |
| Lucky Seven Gun Club Private Park | Land trusts & nonprofits | 121 | Open |
| Clear Creek Forest Private Conservation | Private owners | 118 | Closed |
| Hennepin Park District & Indoor Swimming Pool Unknown | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Walter Durley Boyle Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Ernest Bassi Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
4 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
2 places to go in Hennepin Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Hennepin Township
2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
County Road 1000 East0.2 mi
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
The best walking months in Hennepin Township: April and July to 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 | 63 | 74 | 82 | 85 | 83 | 78 | 65 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 1.8 | 1.7 | 2.4 | 3.6 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Hennepin Township →
Next door
Hennepin Township and its neighbors
Hennepin Township has the second most mapped trails of the 7 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Leepertown Township8.2 miHennepin Township7.7 miSenachwine Township2.6 miGranville Township1.4 miMagnolia Township1.4 miHenry Township0.9 miHennepin0.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hennepin Township | 17% | 0.2 | 1,231 | 69% | A− |
| Senachwine Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Leepertown Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Hennepin | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Granville Township | 4% | under 0.1 | 409 | 75% | B |
| Magnolia Township | 2% | under 0.1 | 265 | 60% | B− |
| Henry 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 Hennepin Township
How much of Hennepin Township is conserved land?
17% 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 Hennepin Township’s trails?
Donnelley State Fish and Wildlife Area doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Hennepin Township?
15,870 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hennepin Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4,213 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Hennepin Township have?
Ahead of 81% 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 Hennepin 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 →