Douglas Hart Nature Center
Nature preserve
68 acres1.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Lafayette Township
Lafayette Township has 124 acres of parks, 26 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Douglas Hart Nature Center (1.5 mi). 60% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 10 miles of mapped trail cross Lafayette Township, 0.3 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns · #548 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
115 acres · of 36.2 sq mi of land
Trails
10 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
124 ac
26 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
60%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.0 mi
6.0 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lafayette Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lafayette Township is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns, #548 of 768 in Illinois. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lafayette Township’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land26 acres of park per 1,000 residents (124 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home60% 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 44%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 29%
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
The longest trail network is Douglas Hart Nature Center, with 1.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Peterson Park
Park
20 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
115 conserved acres
under 1% of Lafayette Township’s land. Who manages Lafayette Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits72 ac
Town or city42 ac
Local Conservation Area · 72 acLocal Park · 23 acLocal Recreation Area · 19 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Douglas Hart Nature Center Local Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 72 | Open |
| Peterson Park Local Park | Town or city | 23 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 19 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Lafayette Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Lafayette Township
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
County Road 1075 East0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
6.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
6.0 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
6Baseball
4Tennis
1Football
1Soccer
1Basketball
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 Lafayette 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) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 36 | 40 | 52 | 64 | 74 | 83 | 86 | 85 | 79 | 67 | 52 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 2.5 | 2.1 | 2.9 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 4.8 | 4.2 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 2.5 |
February is the driest month (2.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.8 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Lafayette Township →
Next door
Lafayette Township and its neighbors
Lafayette Township has the most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Lafayette Township10 miMattoon Township7.8 miPleasant Grove Township7.6 miMattoon4.4 miCharleston Township4.4 miHumboldt Township3.8 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lafayette Township | under 1% | 0.3 | 26 | 60% | C+ |
| Humboldt Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 3 | 33% | D |
| Mattoon Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Mattoon | 2% | 0.4 | 11 | 93% | B |
| Pleasant Grove Township | under 1% | 0.2 | 13 | 20% | C− |
| Charleston 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 Lafayette Township
Where can I hike in Lafayette Township?
The longest trail networks: Douglas Hart Nature Center, 1.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lafayette Township is conserved land?
under 1% 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 Lafayette Township’s trails?
Douglas Hart Nature Center and Peterson Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Lafayette Township?
6.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 6.0 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Lafayette Township?
2,246 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lafayette Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 124 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Lafayette Township have?
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #548 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 Lafayette 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 →