Mercer County Fairgrounds · Photo: Boscophotos · CC BY-SA 3.0Mercer Township has 29 acres of parks, 7.4 for every 1,000 residents
88% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3.2 miles of mapped trail cross Mercer Township, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 30% of U.S. towns · #645 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Mercer Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Mercer Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Mercer Township is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns, #645 of 768 in Illinois. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 7 parks & preserves
20 conserved acres
under 1% of Mercer Township’s land. Who manages Mercer Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northside Park Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 8 | Open |
| Fenton Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Central Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Rma Park Local Park | Regional agency | 1 | Open |
| Monument Park Local Historic or Cultural Area | Town or city | 1 | Open |
10 places to go in Mercer Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
5 lakes & rivers
0.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
September is the best month for walking in Mercer 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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 36 | 49 | 62 | 73 | 82 | 85 | 83 | 77 | 64 | 49 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 1.6 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 3.7 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 1.9 |
January is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 5.0 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Mercer Township →
Mercer Township and its neighbors
Mercer Township has the most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercer Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 7 | 88% | C |
| Greene Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 3 | 57% | C− |
| Abington Township | — 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 Mercer Township
Where can I hike in Mercer Township?
The longest trail networks: Central Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Mercer Township is conserved land?
under 1% 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 Mercer Township’s trails?
Fenton Park and Northside Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Mercer Township?
0.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.9 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Mercer Township?
2,267 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Mercer Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 29 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Mercer Township have?
Ahead of 30% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #645 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 Mercer Township neighbors.
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 →