Mackinaw River State Fish and Wildlife Area
Nature preserve
1,434 acres2.5 mi of trail
Gold Mine Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Mackinaw Township
Mackinaw Township has 1,011 acres of parks, 238 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Mackinaw River State Fish and Wildlife Area (2.5 mi). 2.8 miles of mapped trail cross Mackinaw Township, 0.1 per square mile of land. 5% of Mackinaw Township’s land is conserved, about 1,207 acres.
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns · #373 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
1,207 acres · of 36.2 sq mi of land
Trails
2.8 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,011 ac
238 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
67%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.5 mi
0.5 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Mackinaw Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Mackinaw Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Mackinaw Township is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns, #373 of 768 in Illinois. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Mackinaw Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4CPark land238 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,011 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13AParks close to home67% 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 63%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 51%
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 Mackinaw River State Fish and Wildlife Area, with 2.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
ParkLands Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
73 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Westwood Park
Park
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Mackinaw River State Fish and Wildlife Area Headquarters
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Mackinaw River State Fish and Wildlife Area1,434 acres · 2.5 mi of trail
ParkLands Nature Preserve73 acres
Westwood Park10 acres
Mackinaw River State Fish and Wildlife Area Headquarters1 acres
Veterans Park1 acres
Who protects it
1,207 conserved acres
5% of Mackinaw Township’s land. Who manages Mackinaw Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land952 ac
Regional Water Districts131 ac
State conservation61 ac
Town or city44 ac
Private owners42 ac
State Recreation Area · 952 acConservation Easement · 192 acLocal Park · 52 acState Conservation Area · 25 acPrivate Conservation · 6 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 169 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mackinaw River State Recreation Area | Other state land | 952 | Open |
| Brock Park Local Park | Town or city | 33 | Open |
| Mehl's Bluff Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | Private owners | 25 | Closed |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Heritage Lake Beach Park Local Park | Private owners | 8 | Open |
| Log Cabin Hill Prairie Private Conservation | Private owners | 6 | Restricted |
| Coon Hill Prairie Natural Heritage Landmark Private Historic or Cultural | Private owners | 2 | Closed |
| Veterans Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Mackinaw Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Picnic areas in Mackinaw Township
Mackinaw River Picnic Area.In Mackinaw River State Fish and Wildlife Area
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.7 mi
Gold Mine Trail2.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Baseball
1Football
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 Mackinaw 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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 38 | 51 | 64 | 74 | 83 | 85 | 84 | 78 | 65 | 51 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.9 | 2.6 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 2.8 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Mackinaw Township →
Next door
Mackinaw Township and its neighbors
Mackinaw Township has the most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Mackinaw Township2.8 miDanvers Township1.4 miTremont Township0.7 miDeer Creek Township0.3 miLittle Mackinaw Township0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mackinaw Township | 5% | 0.1 | 238 | 67% | B |
| Deer Creek Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 14 | 46% | C− |
| Little Mackinaw Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 34 | 75% | C |
| Danvers Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | under 1 | 53% | D |
| Tremont Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 5 | 55% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Mackinaw Township
Where can I hike in Mackinaw Township?
The longest trail networks: Mackinaw River State Fish and Wildlife Area, 2.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Mackinaw Township is conserved land?
5% 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 Mackinaw Township’s trails?
Mackinaw River State Fish and Wildlife Area and ParkLands Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Mackinaw Township?
0.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Mackinaw Township?
3,090 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Mackinaw Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,011 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Mackinaw Township have?
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #373 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 Mackinaw 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 →