Sand Ridge State Forest
Managed by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
1,391 acres7.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: NatFee · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Manito Township
Manito Township has 1,405 acres of parks, 685 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Sand Ridge State Forest (7.6 mi). 9% of Manito Township’s land is conserved, about 2,449 acres. 9.9 miles of mapped trail cross Manito Township, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
2,449 acres · of 43.8 sq mi of land
Trails
9.9 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,405 ac
685 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
9%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
499 ft
Hickory Grove Hill
What kind of outdoors town is Manito Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Manito Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Manito Township is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Manito Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land685 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,405 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home9% of residents within a half mile of a park · IL 88% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 60%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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 Sand Ridge State Forest, with 7.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Sparks Pond State Natural Area
Nature preserve
380 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Walden West Land and Water Reserve
Nature preserve
41 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
2,449 conserved acres
9% of Manito Township’s land. Who manages Manito Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources1,791 ac
Private owners662 ac
State conservation410 ac
State Conservation Area · 1,791 acPrivate Conservation · 662 acConservation Easement · 410 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sand Ridge State Forest State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 1,421 | Open |
| Sparks Ponds Private Conservation | Private owners | 615 | Closed |
| Sparks Pond State Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 369 | Open |
| Walden West Land and Water Reserve Private Conservation | Private owners | 47 | Closed |
Things to do
10 places to go in Manito Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Manito Township
7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Manito Township
Hickory Grove Hill499 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Manito Township
Back Country 1In Sand Ridge State Forest
DirectionsOak CampIn Sand Ridge State Forest
DirectionsBiking & 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
8Baseball
1Basketball
1Tennis
1Beach volleyball
1Pickleball
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 Manito 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 | 15.0 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 39 | 52 | 65 | 75 | 84 | 86 | 85 | 79 | 66 | 52 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.9 | 2.5 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 2.7 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Manito Township →
Next door
Manito Township and its neighbors
Manito Township has the second most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Quiver Township41 miManito Township9.9 miForest City Township9.0 miSand Prairie Township3.1 miSpring Lake Township1.7 miMalone Township1.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manito Township | 9% | 0.2 | 685 | 9% | B |
| Forest City Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Spring Lake Township | 6% | under 0.1 | 1,228 | 47% | B |
| Quiver Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Malone Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Sand Prairie Township | 3% | 0.1 | 14 | 49% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Manito Township
Where can I hike in Manito Township?
The longest trail networks: Sand Ridge State Forest, 7.6 miles; Sparks Pond State Natural Area, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Manito Township is conserved land?
9% 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 Manito Township’s trails?
Sand Ridge State Forest and Sparks Pond State Natural Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Manito Township?
23,539 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Manito Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,405 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Manito Township have?
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Manito 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 →