Glacial Park Conservation Area
Nature preserve
598 acres3.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Dwatling98 · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in McHenry Township
McHenry Township has 859 acres of parks, 18 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Glacial Park Conservation Area (3.5 mi), Harrison Benwell Conservation Area (1.3 mi), Hiller Park (0.5 mi). 81% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5% of McHenry Township’s land is conserved, about 1,450 acres.
Ahead of 69% of U.S. towns · #310 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
1,450 acres · of 44.7 sq mi of land
Trails
21 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
859 ac
18 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
81%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
12 mi
12 mi paths
Highest peak
771 ft
Bald Knob
Lakes & rivers
4
7 beaches · 8 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is McHenry Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does McHenry Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, McHenry Township is ahead of 69% of U.S. towns, #310 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 McHenry Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (21 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land18 acres of park per 1,000 residents (859 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13BParks close to home81% 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 69%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 60%
Water is 7% of McHenry Township’s area (3 of 48 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 5%.
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 Glacial Park Conservation Area, with 3.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Harrison Benwell Conservation Area
Managed by McHenry County Conservation District
79 acres1.3 mi of trail
South Loop (.75 mi)Short Loop (.5 mi)
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 31 parks & preserves
Glacial Park Conservation Area598 acres · 3.5 mi of trail
DirectionsHarrison Benwell Conservation Area79 acres · 1.3 mi of trail · McHenry County Conservation District
DirectionsHiller Park18 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsFox Ridge Park91 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsMcHenry Township Park39 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsWeingart Rd Sedge Meadow Nature Preserve127 acres
Petersen Park79 acres
DirectionsCold Springs Park50 acres
DirectionsWhispering Oaks Park30 acres
DirectionsShamrock Farm Park24 acres
DirectionsWilliam H Althoff Park20 acres
DirectionsAdams Park16 acres
DirectionsSunnyside Park14 acres
DirectionsMcCracken Athletic Field13 acres
DirectionsCommunity Center Park11 acres
DirectionsMchenry VFW park10 acres
DirectionsMorrison Park6 acres
Pheasant Valley Park6 acres
Freund Field4 acres
DirectionsLiberty Trails Park3 acres
Veteran's Memorial Park3 acres
DirectionsLakeland Park2 acres
DirectionsEast Beach Park2 acres
West Beach Park1 acres
DirectionsNorth Oak Park1 acres
Lookout Plant Park1 acres
Center Street Park1 acres
DirectionsKiwanis Tot Lot1 acres
DirectionsLake Street Park1 acres
Weber's Park1 acres
DirectionsOverton Park1 acres
Who protects it
1,450 conserved acres
5% of McHenry Township’s land. Water is left out: McHenry Township has 44.7 square miles of land and 3.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages McHenry Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation451 ac
Town or city371 ac
Regional agency314 ac
Private owners261 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits136 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)104 ac
State natural resources43 ac
Conservation Easement · 808 acLocal Park · 362 acState Conservation Area · 303 acLocal Conservation Area · 95 acState Park · 43 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 578 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glacial Park Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | Private owners | 232 | Closed |
| Petersen Farm Local Park | Town or city | 121 | Open |
| Harrison Benwell County Park Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 78 | Open |
| Lily Lake State Conservation Area | Town or city | 54 | Open |
| Cold Springs Park Local Park | Town or city | 49 | Open |
| Glacial Park 12 Local Park | Regional agency | 44 | Open |
| Morraine Hills State Park State Park | State natural resources | 43 | Open |
| Pioneer Fen 2 Unknown | Regional agency | 40 | Restricted |
| Mchenry Township Park Local Park | Town or city | 40 | Open |
| Weingart Road Sedge Meadow Private Conservation | Private owners | 29 | Closed |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
64 places to go in McHenry Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in McHenry Township
Petersen Park BeachFee · In Petersen Park
DirectionsWonder Center Beach
DirectionsPlus 5 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in McHenry Township
Fort McHenryIn Whispering Oaks Park
DirectionsHiller ParkIn Hiller Park
Directions46 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Dog parks in McHenry Township
McBark Dog Park
DirectionsPlus 1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in McHenry Township
Bald Knob Marina Boat Launch
DirectionsPlus 7 boat launches without a name on the map.
Peaks in McHenry Township
Bald Knob771 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 3.8 mi
South Loop (.75 mi)0.7 mi
Short Loop (.5 mi)0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
12 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
12 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
35Baseball
21Tennis
9Basketball
6Soccer
4Football
4Beach volleyball
3Volleyball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in McHenry Township: July to 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) | 30 | 34 | 46 | 58 | 70 | 79 | 83 | 82 | 75 | 62 | 47 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 1.7 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in McHenry Township →
Next door
McHenry Township and its neighbors
McHenry Township has the second most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Nunda Township38 miMcHenry Township21 miGrant Township9.4 miGreenwood Township9.3 miBull Valley2.9 miWauconda Township1.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McHenry Township | 5% | 0.5 | 18 | 81% | B+ |
| Greenwood Township | 9% | 0.3 | 122 | 82% | A− |
| Nunda Township | 16% | 0.8 | 63 | 73% | A |
| Grant Township | 16% | 0.5 | 17 | 79% | A− |
| Wauconda Township | 5% | 0.1 | 14 | 81% | B− |
| Bull Valley | 9% | 0.3 | 15 | 42% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in McHenry Township
Where can I hike in McHenry Township?
The longest trail networks: Glacial Park Conservation Area, 3.5 miles; Harrison Benwell Conservation Area, 1.3 miles; Hiller Park, 0.5 miles; Fox Ridge Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of McHenry 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 McHenry Township’s trails?
Glacial Park Conservation Area and Harrison Benwell Conservation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in McHenry Township?
12 miles of bike routes are on the map: 12 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near McHenry Township?
29,895 acres of parks and open public land lie inside McHenry Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 859 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does McHenry Township have?
Ahead of 69% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #310 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 McHenry 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 →