Buffalo Trace Prairie
Managed by Champaign County Forests
266 acres6.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Dual Freq · CC BY 2.5AOutdoors
Outdoors in Mahomet
Mahomet has 11 miles of mapped trails, 1.1 for every square mile of land
532 acres are parks and preserves, 53 per 1,000 residents. 92% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Buffalo Trace Prairie (6.7 mi), River Bend Forest Preserve (2.5 mi).
Ahead of 89% of U.S. towns · #89 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
365 acres · of 9.7 sq mi of land
Trails
11 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
532 ac
53 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
92%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.4 mi
6.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Mahomet?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Mahomet have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Mahomet is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns, #89 of 768 in Illinois. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, conserved land lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Mahomet’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (11 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land53 acres of park per 1,000 residents (532 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home92% of residents within a half mile of a park · IL 88% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 89%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 89%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Buffalo Trace Prairie, with 6.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
River Bend Forest Preserve
Managed by Champaign County Forest Preserves
157 acres2.5 mi of trail
Woodland TrailDogleg Loop Grass
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve
Managed by Champaign County Forest Preserve District
271 acres
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 9 parks & preserves
Buffalo Trace Prairie266 acres · 6.7 mi of trail · Champaign County Forests
DirectionsRiver Bend Forest Preserve157 acres · 2.5 mi of trail · Champaign County Forest Preserves
DirectionsBarber Park46 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsLake of the Woods Forest Preserve271 acres · Champaign County Forest Preserve District
DirectionsBridle Leash Park14 acres · Mahomet Parks and Recreation
DirectionsThirteen Acres Park13 acres · Mahomet Parks & Recreation
Brent Johnson Park10 acres
Taylor Park6 acres
DirectionsDowell Park3 acres
Who protects it
365 conserved acres
6% of Mahomet’s land. Who manages Mahomet’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources277 ac
Town or city82 ac
Private owners41 ac
State conservation32 ac
County1 ac
Conservation Easement · 309 acLocal Park · 82 acPrivate Conservation · 41 acLocal Conservation Area · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 240 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barber Park Local Park | Town or city | 45 | Open |
| Riverbend Land and Water Reserve Private Conservation | Private owners | 41 | Closed |
| Thirteen Acres Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Brent Johnson Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Bridle Leash Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Dowell Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Lake Of The Woods Forest Preserve Local Conservation Area | County | 1 | Open |
| Raymond Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
11 places to go in Mahomet
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Mahomet
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Mahomet
Bridle Leash PLaygroundIn Bridle Leash Park
DirectionsPlus 7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Mahomet
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Disc golf in Mahomet
1 disc golf course without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.3 miUnpaved · 9.8 mi
Shadow Lake Trail0.7 mi
Woodland Trail0.5 mi
Dogleg Loop Grass0.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
6.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
6.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
15Soccer
13Baseball
8Basketball
6Tennis
3Football
1Beach volleyball
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 Mahomet
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 | 15.0 | 14.8 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 39 | 51 | 64 | 74 | 83 | 85 | 84 | 79 | 66 | 51 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 1.9 | 2.6 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 2.3 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Mahomet →
Next door
Mahomet and its neighbors
Mahomet has the second most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mahomet | 6% | 1.1 | 53 | 92% | A |
| Lake of the Woods | 18% | 1.0 | 135 | 95% | A+ |
| Mahomet Township | 4% | 0.4 | 67 | 89% | A− |
| Newcomb Township | 1% | 0.1 | 136 | 25% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Mahomet
Where can I hike in Mahomet?
The longest trail networks: Buffalo Trace Prairie, 6.7 miles; River Bend Forest Preserve, 2.5 miles; Barber Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Mahomet 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 Mahomet’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Mahomet?
6.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 6.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Mahomet?
3,454 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Mahomet or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 532 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Mahomet have?
Ahead of 89% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #89 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 Mahomet 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 →