Gebhard Woods State Park
Managed by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
49 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Gebhard Woods State ParkWebsite ↗
Photo: TCP04 · CC BY 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Morris Township
7% of Morris Township’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 7% of Morris Township’s land is conserved, about 161 acres. 180 acres are parks and preserves, 25 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns · #133 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
161 acres · of 3.5 sq mi of land
Trails
1.7 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
180 ac
25 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.0 mi
4.0 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Morris Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Morris Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Morris Township is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #133 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.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Morris Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land25 acres of park per 1,000 residents (180 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · IL 88% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 85%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 83%
Water is 10% of Morris Township’s area (0 of 4 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 Gebhard Woods State Park, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
William G. Stratton State Park
Managed by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
14 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
McKinley Park
Park
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
Gebhard Woods State Park49 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Illinois Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsWilliam G. Stratton State Park14 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Illinois Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsCanalport Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsGoold Park16 acres
DirectionsMcKinley Park3 acres
Goodwill Park2 acres
DirectionsChapin Park2 acres
Who protects it
161 conserved acres
7% of Morris Township’s land. Water is left out: Morris Township has 3.5 square miles of land and 0.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Morris Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources90 ac
Other state land46 ac
Town or city40 ac
State Recreation Area · 90 acState Park · 46 acLocal Park · 22 acState Conservation Area · 14 acLocal Recreation Area · 4 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois and Michigan Canal State Trail State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 90 | Open |
| Gebhard Woods State Park State Park | Other state land | 32 | Open |
| Goold Park Central Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| William G. Stratton State Park State Park | Other state land | 14 | Open |
| Third Avenue Priarie State Conservation Area | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Goold Park West Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Mckinley Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Canalpoint Center Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Chapin Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Goodwill Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
12 places to go in Morris Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Morris Township
City of Morris Public PoolFee · In Goold Park
DirectionsRavine Woods Swimming Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Morris Township
Goold Park playgroundIn Goold Park
DirectionsMcKinley PlaygroundIn McKinley Park
DirectionsPlus 6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Morris Township
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Biking & sports
4.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.0 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
10Baseball
10Tennis
2Football
2Pickleball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Morris Township: April 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 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 36 | 49 | 62 | 73 | 82 | 85 | 83 | 77 | 65 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Morris Township →
Next door
Morris Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Goose Lake Township23 miErienna Township7.4 miMorris3.0 miWauponsee Township1.8 miMorris Township1.7 miSaratoga Township1.5 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morris Township | 7% | 0.5 | 25 | 99%+ | A |
| Morris | 2% | 0.2 | 13 | 91% | B |
| Wauponsee Township | 5% | 0.1 | 307 | 59% | B |
| Goose Lake Township | 24% | 0.9 | 1,388 | 45% | A |
| Erienna Township | 3% | 0.4 | 131 | 79% | B+ |
| Saratoga Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 12 | 68% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Morris Township
Where can I hike in Morris Township?
The longest trail networks: Gebhard Woods State Park, 0.4 miles; William G. Stratton State Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Morris Township is conserved land?
7% 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 Morris Township’s trails?
Gebhard Woods State Park and Goold Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Morris Township?
4.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.0 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Morris Township?
9,837 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Morris Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 180 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Morris Township have?
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #133 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 Morris 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 →