Giant City State Park
Managed by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
2,201 acres17 mi of trail
Horse TrailRed Cedar TrailRiver to River TrailIndian Creek Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Photo: David Wilson · CC BY 2.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Makanda Township
Makanda Township has 1,882 acres of parks, 467 for every 1,000 residents
15% of Makanda Township’s land is conserved, about 3,452 acres. 38 miles of mapped trail cross Makanda Township, 1.0 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Giant City State Park (17 mi), Fern Rocks Nature Preserve (1.7 mi).
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns · #210 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
15%
3,452 acres · of 37.1 sq mi of land
Trails
38 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,882 ac
467 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
11%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.5 mi
1.5 mi lanes
Lakes & rivers
3
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Makanda Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Makanda Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Makanda Township is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns, #210 of 768 in Illinois. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Makanda Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land15% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (38 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land467 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,882 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home11% 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 79%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 73%
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 Giant City State Park, with 17 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Fern Rocks Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
177 acres1.7 mi of trail
Trillium TrailRed Cedar Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Trillium trail parking and trailhead
Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
166 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
3,452 conserved acres
15% of Makanda Township’s land. Who manages Makanda Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources2,126 ac
U.S. Forest Service953 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service691 ac
State conservation175 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits126 ac
State Conservation Area · 2,155 acNational Forest · 953 acNational Wildlife Refuge · 645 acConservation Easement · 317 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 114 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Giant City State Park State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 2,126 | Open |
| Shawnee National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 953 | Open |
| Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 645 | Restricted |
| Fernlands Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 29 | Open |
Things to do
13 places to go in Makanda Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Makanda Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Makanda Township
7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Makanda Township
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Makanda Township
Giant City Campground (tent)In Giant City State Park
DirectionsOfficeIn Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge
DirectionsWesley Area Little Grassy United Methodist CampIn Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge
DirectionsTrails & water
23 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.5 miHorses · 9.1 miUnpaved · 21.5 mi
Red Cedar Trail5.7 mi
Horse Trail5.4 mi
River to River Trail5.1 mi
Catalyst Loop (Touch of Nature)3.3 mi
Trillium Trail1.2 mi
Volunteer Track1.0 mi
Volunteer Track B1.0 mi
Old River to River Trail0.7 mi
Beaver Fever0.7 mi
String Bean0.7 mi
13 more trails
Sweet Baby Ray
0.6 miConnector B & C
0.6 miIndian Creek Trail
0.5 miGreen Bean
0.5 miFernlands Nature Trail
0.4 miYellow Jacket
0.4 miMulligan
0.2 miConnector A
0.2 miArrow-Wood Nature Trail
0.2 miStonefort Trail
0.2 miDevil's Standtable Trail
0.2 miLower Eastern Star Trail
0.1 miRocky Ledges - Extended
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.5 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
3Baseball
2Basketball
1Softball
1Tennis
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The walking year in Makanda 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 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 41 | 47 | 56 | 68 | 77 | 85 | 88 | 87 | 81 | 69 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 3.1 | 4.4 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 3.6 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 5.4 inches fall in April, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Makanda Township →
Next door
Makanda Township and its neighbors
Makanda Township has the 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Makanda Township | 15% | 1.0 | 467 | 11% | A− |
| Carbondale Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Pomona Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Makanda | — 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 Makanda Township
Where can I hike in Makanda Township?
The longest trail networks: Giant City State Park, 17 miles; Fern Rocks Nature Preserve, 1.7 miles; Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Makanda Township is conserved land?
15% 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 Makanda Township’s trails?
Giant City State Park and Fern Rocks Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Makanda Township?
1.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.5 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Makanda Township?
63,445 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Makanda Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,838 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Makanda Township have?
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #210 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 Makanda 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 →