Horseshoe Lake State Park
Managed by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
3,372 acres4.3 mi of trail
Horseshoe Lake Hiking Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainAOutdoors
Outdoors in Nameoki Township
34% of Nameoki Township’s land is conserved: 4,603 acres
4,468 acres are parks and preserves, 373 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Horseshoe Lake State Park (4.3 mi), Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site (2.6 mi). 9.0 miles of mapped trail cross Nameoki Township, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns · #83 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
34%
4,603 acres · of 21.4 sq mi of land
Trails
9.0 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
4,468 ac
373 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
73%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
14 mi
14 mi paths
Highest peak
515 ft
Monks Mound
Lakes & rivers
4
3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Nameoki Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Nameoki Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Nameoki Township is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #83 of 768 in Illinois. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Nameoki Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land34% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land373 acres of park per 1,000 residents (4,468 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13AParks close to home73% 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 90%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 89%
Water is 18% of Nameoki Township’s area (5 of 26 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 28%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Horseshoe Lake State Park, with 4.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site
Managed by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
273 acres2.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
4,603 conserved acres
34% of Nameoki Township’s land. Water is left out: Nameoki Township has 21.4 square miles of land and 4.8 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Nameoki Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources3,256 ac
Other state land659 ac
Town or city380 ac
County224 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits89 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)70 ac
Regional agency7 ac
State Park · 3,915 acState Conservation Area · 244 acLocal Recreation Area · 177 acConservation Easement · 153 acLocal Conservation Area · 88 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 71 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Horshoe Lake State Park State Park | State natural resources | 3,256 | Open |
| Cahokia Mounds State Historical Site State Park | Other state land | 659 | Open |
| Levee Lake State Conservation Area | Town or city | 233 | Open |
| Mct Schoolhouse Trail Spur Local Recreation Area | County | 170 | Open |
| Arlington Wetlands Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 82 | Open |
| Legacy Golf Course Unknown | Town or city | 53 | Open |
| Mct Nature Trail Local Park | County | 44 | Open |
| Eagle Park Marsh State Conservation Area | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Mct Nickel Plate Trail Local Park | County | 10 | Open |
| Arlington Greens Golf Course Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 7 | Open |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
7 places to go in Nameoki Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Nameoki Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Nameoki Township
Horseshoe LakeIn Horseshoe Lake State Park
DirectionsHorseshoe Lake Boat RampIn Horseshoe Lake State Park
DirectionsHorseshoe Lake South Boat RampIn Horseshoe Lake State Park
DirectionsPeaks in Nameoki Township
Monks Mound515 ft elevation · In Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site
DirectionsCampgrounds in Nameoki Township
Tent campingIn Horseshoe Lake State Park
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 6.4 mi
Horseshoe Lake Hiking Trail3.9 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
14 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
14 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Nameoki 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) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 45 | 56 | 67 | 77 | 86 | 89 | 87 | 81 | 69 | 55 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 2.5 | 2.2 | 3.4 | 4.7 | 5.0 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 2.6 |
February is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 5.0 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Nameoki Township →
Next door
Nameoki Township and its neighbors
Nameoki Township has the most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Nameoki Township9.0 miMadison6.5 miCollinsville Township6.4 miPontoon Beach5.5 miGranite City1.2 miChouteau Township1.2 miVenice Township1.1 miGranite City Township0.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nameoki Township | 34% | 0.4 | 373 | 73% | A |
| Granite City Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Granite City | 4% | 0.1 | 17 | 90% | B− |
| Pontoon Beach | 30% | 0.6 | 306 | 78% | A |
| Madison | 46% | 0.5 | 1,465 | 99% | A+ |
| Collinsville Township | 3% | 0.2 | 20 | 71% | B− |
| Chouteau Township | 4% | under 0.1 | 120 | 66% | B |
| Venice Township | 32% | 0.1 | 461 | 95% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Nameoki Township
Where can I hike in Nameoki Township?
The longest trail networks: Horseshoe Lake State Park, 4.3 miles; Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, 2.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Nameoki Township is conserved land?
34% 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 Nameoki Township’s trails?
Horseshoe Lake State Park and Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Nameoki Township?
14 miles of bike routes are on the map: 14 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Nameoki Township?
23,386 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Nameoki Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4,469 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Nameoki Township have?
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #83 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 Nameoki 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 →