City Park
Park
12 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
COutdoors
Outdoors in Middlefork Township
Middlefork Township has 5.2 miles of mapped trails, 0.1 for every square mile of land
24 acres are parks and preserves, 19 per 1,000 residents. 49% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 29% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
110 acres · of 63.7 sq mi of land
Trails
5.2 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
24 ac
19 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
49%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Middlefork Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Middlefork Township is ahead of 29% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Middlefork Township’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4CPark land19 acres of park per 1,000 residents (24 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13BParks close to home49% 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 29%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
110 conserved acres
under 1% of Middlefork Township’s land. Who manages Middlefork Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits215 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)27 ac
State natural resources11 ac
Not recorded72 ac
Unknown Easement · 246 acConservation Easement · 68 acState Conservation Area · 11 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 99 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middle Fork State Fish and Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 11 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Middlefork Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Middlefork Township
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & 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
2Baseball
1Basketball
1Softball
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 Middlefork 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 | 50 | 63 | 74 | 83 | 85 | 84 | 79 | 66 | 51 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 2.3 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Middlefork Township →
Next door
Middlefork Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Pilot Township40 miKerr Township9.3 miCompromise Township8.2 miMiddlefork Township5.2 miSouth Ross Township4.6 miButler Township3.3 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middlefork Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 19 | 49% | C |
| Butler Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Pilot Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Kerr Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| South Ross Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Compromise Township | under 1% | 0.2 | 10 | 54% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Middlefork Township
How much of Middlefork 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 Middlefork Township’s trails?
City Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Middlefork Township?
9,325 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Middlefork Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 24 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Middlefork Township have?
Ahead of 29% 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 Middlefork 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 →