Schoonmaker Park
Park
18 acres0.7 mi of trail
Schoonmaker Park Path
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Machesney Park
Machesney Park has 504 acres of parks, 22 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Schoonmaker Park (0.7 mi). 85% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 6% of Machesney Park’s land is conserved, about 451 acres.
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns · #281 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
451 acres · of 12.7 sq mi of land
Trails
5.0 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
504 ac
22 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
85%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.5 mi
0.5 mi lanes · 5.0 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Machesney Park?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Machesney Park have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Machesney Park is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #281 of 768 in Illinois. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Machesney Park’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land22 acres of park per 1,000 residents (504 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home85% 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 72%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 63%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 Schoonmaker Park, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Williams Park
Park
48 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Olson Park
Park
9 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 12 parks & preserves
Schoonmaker Park18 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsOlson Park9 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Russ Park1 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Williams Park48 acres
Willow Creek Recreation Path30 acres
DirectionsMarquette Park5 acres
Kieselburg Forest Preserve4 acres · Forest Preserves of Winnebago County
Ray P Lotzer Baseball Park4 acres
Price Park2 acres
Dennis Johnson Memorial Park2 acres
Wentland Sports Park1 acres
DirectionsMinns Park1 acres
Who protects it
451 conserved acres
6% of Machesney Park’s land. Who manages Machesney Park’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County332 ac
Town or city94 ac
Regional agency25 ac
Local Conservation Area · 332 acLocal Park · 94 acLocal Other or Unknown · 24 acLocal Recreation Area · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atwood Homestead Forest Preserve Local Conservation Area | County | 331 | Open |
| Williams Park Local Park | Town or city | 26 | Open |
| Willow Creek Greenway Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 24 | Open |
| Shoonmaker Park Local Park | Town or city | 23 | Open |
| Northshore Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Timberlyne Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Timberlyne Hollow Open Space Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Village Hall Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Eagles View Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Dennis Johnson Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
18 places to go in Machesney Park
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Machesney Park
Silo ParkIn Price Park
DirectionsPlus 8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Machesney Park
3 boat launches without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Machesney Park
6 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Schoonmaker Park Path0.9 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
5.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.5 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
5.0 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
12Tennis
8Soccer
7Baseball
2Basketball
2Football
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Machesney Park: 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 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 33 | 46 | 59 | 71 | 80 | 83 | 82 | 75 | 62 | 47 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 1.6 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 5.3 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 1.9 |
January is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Machesney Park →
Next door
Machesney Park and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Harlem Township52 miLoves Park45 miRockford30 miRoscoe Township7.2 miMachesney Park5.0 miOwen Township5.0 miRoscoe1.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Machesney Park | 6% | 0.4 | 22 | 85% | B+ |
| Loves Park | 34% | 2.7 | 146 | 85% | A+ |
| Harlem Township | 18% | 1.6 | 96 | 84% | A+ |
| Owen Township | 2% | 0.1 | 154 | 28% | B− |
| Roscoe Township | 4% | 0.2 | 34 | 44% | B− |
| Rockford | 6% | 0.5 | 17 | 87% | B+ |
| Roscoe | 4% | 0.2 | 21 | 48% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Machesney Park
Where can I hike in Machesney Park?
The longest trail networks: Schoonmaker Park, 0.7 miles; Olson Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Machesney Park 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 Machesney Park’s trails?
Schoonmaker Park and Williams Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Machesney Park?
5.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.5 of painted or protected lanes and 5.0 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Machesney Park?
13,230 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Machesney Park or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 504 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Machesney Park have?
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #281 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 Machesney Park 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 →