New Baden Community Park
Park
38 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Looking Glass Township
Looking Glass Township has 57 acres of parks, 8.9 for every 1,000 residents
0.2 miles of mapped trail cross Looking Glass Township. 45% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 17% of U.S. towns · #735 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
49 acres · of 50.4 sq mi of land
Trails
0.2 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
57 ac
8.9 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
45%
of residents within ½ mile
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Looking Glass Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Looking Glass Township is ahead of 17% of U.S. towns, #735 of 768 in Illinois. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; park acres per resident come closest.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Looking Glass Township’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4DPark land8.9 acres of park per 1,000 residents (57 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home45% 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 17%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 4%
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Looking Glass Township. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. 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.
Albers Park
Park
7 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
49 conserved acres
under 1% of Looking Glass Township’s land. Who manages Looking Glass Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city39 ac
State conservation10 ac
Private owners9 ac
Local Park · 39 acConservation Easement · 10 acPrivate Conservation · 8 acPrivate Historic or Cultural · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Baden Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 39 | Open |
| Buck Hill Bottom Land And Water Reserve Private Conservation | Private owners | 8 | Closed |
| Nature*s Way Natural Heritage Landmark Private Historic or Cultural | Private owners | 1 | Closed |
Things to do
2 places to go in Looking Glass Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Looking Glass Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
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
3Baseball
2Basketball
1Beach volleyball
1Skate park
1Pickleball
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Looking Glass 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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 45 | 56 | 68 | 77 | 86 | 88 | 87 | 81 | 70 | 55 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 2.7 | 2.3 | 3.5 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 2.7 |
February is the driest month (2.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 4.9 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Looking Glass Township →
Next door
Looking Glass Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Germantown Township3.2 miVenedy Township2.6 miMascoutah Township1.9 miSugar Creek Township1.3 miLooking Glass Township0.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Looking Glass Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 9 | 45% | C− |
| Venedy Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Germantown Township | 1% | 0.1 | 11 | 51% | C |
| Sugar Creek Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 10 | 65% | C− |
| Mascoutah 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 Looking Glass Township
How much of Looking Glass 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 Looking Glass Township’s trails?
New Baden Community Park and Albers Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Looking Glass Township?
4,115 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Looking Glass Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 57 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Looking Glass Township have?
Ahead of 17% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #735 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 Looking Glass 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 →