Singing Woods Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
1,007 acres3.6 mi of trail
Skunk Cabbage TrailShagbark TrailHill Prairie TrailForest Trail
No dogs
Directionsto the parking lot
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Medina Township
Medina Township has 657 acres of parks, 47 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Singing Woods Nature Preserve (3.6 mi), Tawny Oaks Field Station (0.7 mi). 8% of Medina Township’s land is conserved, about 1,390 acres. 81% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 75% of U.S. towns · #258 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
1,390 acres · of 26.8 sq mi of land
Trails
6.9 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
657 ac
47 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
81%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
8.4 mi
8.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Medina Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Medina Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Medina Township is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns, #258 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 Medina Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land47 acres of park per 1,000 residents (657 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13A−Parks 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 75%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 66%
Water is 9% of Medina Township’s area (3 of 29 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 7%.
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 Singing Woods Nature Preserve, with 3.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Tawny Oaks Field Station
Managed by Peoria Park District
34 acres0.7 mi of trail
Prairie PathForest Trail
No dogs
Directionsto the parking lot
Merdel/Ford Property
Nature preserve
150 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 14 parks & preserves
Singing Woods Nature Preserve1,007 acres · 3.6 mi of trail
DirectionsTawny Oaks Field Station34 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · Peoria Park District
DirectionsRobinson Park South31 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Peoria Park District
Medina Township Park40 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Medina Township
DirectionsTimothy J. Cassidy Park25 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Peoria Park District
DirectionsGaylord Wildlife Area17 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Stone Water Park15 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsMerdel/Ford Property150 acres
Altorfer Tract96 acres
DirectionsRobert Rutherford Wildlife Sanctuary84 acres
Robinson Park North4 acres
Detweiller Riverside Park4 acres · Peoria Park District
Rock Island Trail4 acres
DirectionsAlta Trailhead3 acres · Illinois Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsWho protects it
1,390 conserved acres
8% of Medina Township’s land. Water is left out: Medina Township has 26.8 square miles of land and 2.5 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Medina Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation744 ac
Regional agency339 ac
Town or city242 ac
Private owners36 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits23 ac
Other state land5 ac
Conservation Easement · 744 acLocal Conservation Area · 420 acLocal Park · 104 acLocal Recreation Area · 86 acUnknown · 14 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 744 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 18 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Rutherford Wildlife Sanctuary Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 221 | Open |
| Merdel/Ford Property Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 154 | Open |
| Mossville Soccer Complex Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 48 | Open |
| Alta Gardens Local Park | Town or city | 40 | Open |
| Tawny Oaks Field Station Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 31 | Open |
| Timothy J. Cassidy Park Local Park | Regional agency | 25 | Open |
| Hickory Grove Park Local Park | Land trusts & nonprofits | 23 | Open |
| Valley Lakes Country Club Local Recreation Area | Private owners | 23 | Open |
| Mount Hawley Manor Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Stone Water Park Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
7 places to go in Medina Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Medina Township
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Medina Township
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Disc golf in Medina Township
Northwoods Church Frisbee Golf Course
DirectionsTrails & water
6 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 5.2 mi
Skunk Cabbage Trail1.3 mi
Forest Trail0.8 mi
Shagbark Trail0.8 mi
Hill Prairie Trail0.7 mi
Illinois River Bluff Trail0.5 mi
Prairie Path0.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
8.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
8.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
4Basketball
4Tennis
3Soccer
3Baseball
1Volleyball
1Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Medina Township: August and 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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 37 | 50 | 63 | 74 | 83 | 85 | 83 | 78 | 65 | 50 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 1.9 | 1.9 | 2.5 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Medina Township →
Next door
Medina Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Peoria34 miPeoria City Township34 miMedina Township6.9 miRadnor Township6.3 miRichwoods Township4.3 miSpring Bay Township3.0 miHallock Township1.2 miRome0.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medina Township | 8% | 0.3 | 47 | 81% | B+ |
| Peoria City Township | 17% | 0.8 | 42 | 89% | A |
| Peoria | 16% | 0.7 | 37 | 88% | A |
| Spring Bay Township | 5% | 0.3 | 73 | 59% | B+ |
| Radnor Township | 2% | 0.2 | 82 | 68% | B |
| Hallock Township | 6% | under 0.1 | 464 | 40% | B− |
| Richwoods Township | 21% | 1.4 | 30 | 99% | A+ |
| Rome | under 1% | 0.1 | 6 | 64% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Medina Township
Where can I hike in Medina Township?
The longest trail networks: Singing Woods Nature Preserve, 3.6 miles; Tawny Oaks Field Station, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Medina Township is conserved land?
8% 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 Medina Township’s trails?
Singing Woods Nature Preserve and Tawny Oaks Field Station don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Medina Township?
8.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 8.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Medina Township?
20,314 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Medina Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 670 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Medina Township have?
Ahead of 75% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #258 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 Medina 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 →