Kaskaskia River State Fish and Wildlife Area
Managed by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
3,128 acres1.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
AOutdoors
Outdoors in New Athens Township
New Athens Township has 4,758 acres of parks, 1,807 for every 1,000 residents
24% of New Athens Township’s land is conserved, about 5,242 acres. The biggest trail networks: Kaskaskia River State Fish and Wildlife Area (1.6 mi). 81% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
24%
5,242 acres · of 34.0 sq mi of land
Trails
4.8 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
4,758 ac
1,807 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
81%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
472 ft
Point Lookout
Lakes & rivers
3
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is New Athens Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does New Athens Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, New Athens Township is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of New Athens Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land24% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land1,807 acres of park per 1,000 residents (4,758 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home81% 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 85%
LessMore
Water is 5% of New Athens Township’s area (2 of 36 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 23%.
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 Kaskaskia River State Fish and Wildlife Area, with 1.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
5,242 conserved acres
24% of New Athens Township’s land. Water is left out: New Athens Township has 34.0 square miles of land and 2.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages New Athens Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources4,939 ac
Private owners287 ac
State conservation262 ac
Town or city16 ac
State Conservation Area · 4,939 acConservation Easement · 262 acPrivate Conservation · 195 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 92 acLocal Park · 16 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaskaskia River State Fish and Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 3,058 | Open |
| Peabody River King State Fish and Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 1,882 | Open |
| Silver Creek Woods Private Conservation | Private owners | 139 | Restricted |
| Freeburg Rod and Gun Club Woods Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 92 | Closed |
| New Athens Woods Private Conservation | Private owners | 56 | Closed |
| Okaw Valley Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in New Athens Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in New Athens Township
New Athens Public Boat RampIn Kaskaskia River State Fish and Wildlife Area
DirectionsPeaks in New Athens Township
Point Lookout472 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in New Athens Township
Kaskaskia River CampgroundsIn Okaw Valley Park
DirectionsTrails & water
3 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
4Baseball
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in New Athens 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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 41 | 46 | 57 | 68 | 77 | 86 | 89 | 88 | 81 | 70 | 56 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 2.7 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 2.7 |
February is the driest month (2.3 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 New Athens Township →
Next door
New Athens Township and its neighbors
New Athens Township has the most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
New Athens Township4.8 miFreeburg Township4.3 miLenzburg Township3.9 miFayetteville Township1.2 miNew Athens0.4 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Athens Township | 24% | 0.1 | 1,807 | 81% | A |
| Lenzburg Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Freeburg Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Fayetteville Township | 5% | under 0.1 | 618 | 53% | B |
| New Athens | 25% | 0.2 | 192 | 92% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in New Athens Township
Where can I hike in New Athens Township?
The longest trail networks: Kaskaskia River State Fish and Wildlife Area, 1.6 miles; Okaw Valley Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of New Athens Township is conserved land?
24% 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 New Athens Township’s trails?
Kaskaskia River State Fish and Wildlife Area and Okaw Valley Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near New Athens Township?
14,426 acres of parks and open public land lie inside New Athens Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4,758 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does New Athens Township have?
Ahead of 85% 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 New Athens 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 →