H & B Bremer Wildlife Sanctuary
Park
193 acres4.2 mi of trail
Bluebird TrailWest Creek TrailWest Prarie TrailTimber Trail+1
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Nils Huenerfuerst · CC BY 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Hillsboro
Hillsboro has 333 acres of parks, 57 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: H & B Bremer Wildlife Sanctuary (4.2 mi). 6% of Hillsboro’s land is conserved, about 332 acres. 4.2 miles of mapped trail cross Hillsboro, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 69% of U.S. towns · #320 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
332 acres · of 8.8 sq mi of land
Trails
4.2 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
333 ac
57 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
47%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
1 beach · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Hillsboro?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hillsboro have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hillsboro is ahead of 69% of U.S. towns, #320 of 768 in Illinois. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Hillsboro’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land57 acres of park per 1,000 residents (333 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home47% 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 69%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 58%
Water is 17% of Hillsboro’s area (2 of 10 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 5%.
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
The longest trail network is H & B Bremer Wildlife Sanctuary, with 4.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Challacombe Park
Park
17 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Central Park
Park
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
332 conserved acres
6% of Hillsboro’s land. Water is left out: Hillsboro has 8.8 square miles of land and 1.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Hillsboro’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits199 ac
Town or city133 ac
Private Conservation · 199 acLocal Park · 56 acLocal Recreation Area · 54 acAccess Area · 23 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| H & B Bremer Wildlife Sanctuary Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 199 | Open |
| Hillsboro Sports Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 54 | Open |
| Lake Hillsboro Park Local Park | Town or city | 35 | Open |
| Challacombe Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Glenn Shoals South Access Area Access Area | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Glenn Shoals North Access Area Access Area | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Central Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in Hillsboro
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Hillsboro
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Hillsboro
Lake Glenn Shoals
DirectionsLake Glenn Shoals
DirectionsScenic views in Hillsboro
3 scenic views without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in Hillsboro
Sherwood Forest Campground
DirectionsTrails & water
6 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 4.0 mi
Bluebird Trail2.3 mi
West Creek Trail0.4 mi
West Prarie Trail0.4 mi
Timber Trail0.3 mi
Pipeline Trail0.2 mi
Cress Creek Trail0.1 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
8Baseball
6Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Hillsboro
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 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 42 | 53 | 66 | 75 | 84 | 87 | 86 | 80 | 68 | 53 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 2.2 | 3.1 | 4.7 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 2.5 |
February is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.8 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Hillsboro →
Next door
Hillsboro and its neighbors
Hillsboro has the most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hillsboro | 6% | 0.5 | 57 | 47% | B+ |
| Hillsboro Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Butler Grove 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 Hillsboro
Where can I hike in Hillsboro?
The longest trail networks: H & B Bremer Wildlife Sanctuary, 4.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hillsboro 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 Hillsboro’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at H & B Bremer Wildlife Sanctuary (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Hillsboro?
978 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hillsboro or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 333 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Hillsboro have?
Ahead of 69% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #320 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 Hillsboro 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 →