Morrison-Rockwood State Park
Managed by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
277 acres3.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Mount Pleasant Township
Mount Pleasant Township has 401 acres of parks, 85 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Morrison-Rockwood State Park (3.8 mi), Sports Complex (1.1 mi). 88% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 6.8 miles of mapped trail cross Mount Pleasant Township, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 55% of U.S. towns · #459 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
75 acres · of 35.8 sq mi of land
Trails
6.8 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
401 ac
85 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
88%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.4 mi
2.1 mi lanes · 1.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Mount Pleasant Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Mount Pleasant Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Mount Pleasant Township is ahead of 55% of U.S. towns, #459 of 768 in Illinois. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Mount Pleasant Township’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land85 acres of park per 1,000 residents (401 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13AParks close to home88% 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 55%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 40%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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 Morrison-Rockwood State Park, with 3.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Whiteside County Fairgrounds
Park
35 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
Morrison-Rockwood State Park277 acres · 3.8 mi of trail · Illinois Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsSports Complex32 acres · 1.1 mi of trail
DirectionsWaterworks Park12 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Kelly Park7 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsWhiteside County Fairgrounds35 acres
French Creek Park26 acres
DirectionsKiwanis Park6 acres
Who protects it
75 conserved acres
under 1% of Mount Pleasant Township’s land. Who manages Mount Pleasant Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city75 ac
Local Park · 75 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morrison Sport Complex Local Park | Town or city | 30 | Open |
| French Creek Park Local Park | Town or city | 23 | Open |
| Waterworks Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Kelly Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Kiwanis Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Veteran'S Park & Memorial Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Mount Pleasant Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Mount Pleasant Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Mount Pleasant Township
Wilderness Woods Picnic AreaIn Morrison-Rockwood State Park
DirectionsPlus 1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.9 miHorses · 3.1 miUnpaved · 3.8 mi
Morrison-Rockwood Trail0.9 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
3.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Morrison-Rockwood TrailBike route
0.9 miCourts & fields
8Baseball
5Pickleball
3Tennis
2Basketball
1Football
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Mount Pleasant 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 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 35 | 47 | 61 | 72 | 81 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 63 | 48 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 1.6 | 1.7 | 2.5 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 5.1 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 2.8 | 2.4 | 2.1 |
January is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 5.1 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Mount Pleasant Township →
Next door
Mount Pleasant Township and its neighbors
Mount Pleasant Township has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Clyde Township15 miMount Pleasant Township6.8 miUnion Grove Township6.3 miHopkins Township1.8 miLyndon Township0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Pleasant Township | under 1% | 0.2 | 85 | 88% | B |
| Lyndon Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Hopkins Township | 1% | 0.1 | 45 | 6% | C |
| Union Grove Township | under 1% | 0.2 | under 1 | 11% | D |
| Clyde 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 Mount Pleasant Township
Where can I hike in Mount Pleasant Township?
The longest trail networks: Morrison-Rockwood State Park, 3.8 miles; Sports Complex, 1.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Mount Pleasant 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 Mount Pleasant Township’s trails?
Morrison-Rockwood State Park and Sports Complex don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Mount Pleasant Township?
3.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.1 of painted or protected lanes and 1.3 of off-road paths. Named routes: Morrison-Rockwood Trail.
Is there public land near Mount Pleasant Township?
5,792 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Mount Pleasant Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 401 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Mount Pleasant Township have?
Ahead of 55% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #459 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 Mount Pleasant 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 →