Riverwood Forest Preserve
Nature preserve
157 acres4.9 mi of trail
Riverwood Prairie Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Kingston Township
Kingston Township has 425 acres of parks, 123 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Riverwood Forest Preserve (4.9 mi), Russel Woods (3.8 mi), Prairie Oaks Forest Preserve (1.8 mi). 20 miles of mapped trail cross Kingston Township, 0.5 per square mile of land. 3% of Kingston Township’s land is conserved, about 564 acres.
Ahead of 69% of U.S. towns · #307 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
564 acres · of 35.7 sq mi of land
Trails
20 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
425 ac
123 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
62%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Kingston Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Kingston Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Kingston Township is ahead of 69% of U.S. towns, #307 of 768 in Illinois. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Kingston Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (20 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land123 acres of park per 1,000 residents (425 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13AParks close to home62% 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 69%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 60%
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 Riverwood Forest Preserve, with 4.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Russel Woods
Nature preserve
265 acres3.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Prairie Oaks Forest Preserve
Nature preserve
47 acres1.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Conservation Corridor
Nature preserve
40 acres1.3 mi of trail
The Conservation Trailconservation corridor trailnelson prairie loop
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Knute Olson Forest Preserve
Nature preserve
31 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
All 6 parks & preserves
Riverwood Forest Preserve157 acres · 4.9 mi of trail
DirectionsRussel Woods265 acres · 3.8 mi of trail
DirectionsPrairie Oaks Forest Preserve47 acres · 1.8 mi of trail
DirectionsConservation Corridor40 acres · 1.3 mi of trail
DirectionsKnute Olson Forest Preserve31 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
DirectionsKingston Township East Park15 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsWho protects it
564 conserved acres
3% of Kingston Township’s land. Who manages Kingston Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency300 ac
Town or city201 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits63 ac
Local Park · 201 acLocal Conservation Area · 147 acConservation Easement · 63 acUnknown · 54 acLocal Other or Unknown · 51 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 63 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colvin Park Local Park | Town or city | 201 | Open |
| Russell Forest Preserve Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 123 | Open |
| South Branch Prairie Unknown | Regional agency | 54 | Open |
| Walcamp Outdoor Ministries & Retreat Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 51 | Open |
| Prairie Oaks Forest Preserve State Conservation Area | Regional agency | 42 | Closed |
| Knute Olson, Jr. Forest Preserve Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 24 | Open |
| Hoppe Farmstead Forest Preserve State Conservation Area | Regional agency | 6 | Closed |
Things to do
18 places to go in Kingston Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Kingston Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Kingston Township
Canoe/Kayak launch
DirectionsPlus 1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Fishing spots in Kingston Township
Fishing Allowed hereIn Russel Woods
DirectionsPicnic areas in Kingston Township
14 picnic areas without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
4 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 5.6 mi
The Conservation Trail0.6 mi
conservation corridor trail0.4 mi
Riverwood Prairie Trail0.3 mi
nelson prairie loop0.3 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
2Soccer
2Baseball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Kingston Township: April and 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.2 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 34 | 46 | 59 | 71 | 80 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 62 | 47 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 1.7 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 1.9 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Kingston Township →
Next door
Kingston Township 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingston Township | 3% | 0.5 | 123 | 62% | B+ |
| Genoa Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Genoa | 3% | 1.7 | 21 | 99% | A |
| Franklin Township | 6% | 0.7 | 5 | 69% | B |
| Spring 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 Kingston Township
Where can I hike in Kingston Township?
The longest trail networks: Riverwood Forest Preserve, 4.9 miles; Russel Woods, 3.8 miles; Prairie Oaks Forest Preserve, 1.8 miles; Conservation Corridor, 1.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Kingston Township is conserved land?
3% 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 Kingston Township’s trails?
Riverwood Forest Preserve and Russel Woods don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Kingston Township?
8,897 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Kingston Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 480 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Kingston Township have?
Ahead of 69% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #307 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 Kingston 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 →