Sangamon River Forest Preserve
Managed by Champaign County Forest Preserves
154 acres2.2 mi of trail
Bottomland TrailPrairie TrailWildcat Slough Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Hazen Bridge · Photo: Roger McCredie · Public domainC+Outdoors
Outdoors in Newcomb Township
Newcomb Township has 200 acres of parks, 136 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Sangamon River Forest Preserve (2.2 mi). 25% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3.6 miles of mapped trail cross Newcomb Township, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 38% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
231 acres · of 36.2 sq mi of land
Trails
3.6 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
200 ac
136 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
25%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Newcomb Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Newcomb Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Newcomb Township is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Newcomb Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4CPark land136 acres of park per 1,000 residents (200 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13AParks close to home25% 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 38%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. 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 Sangamon River Forest Preserve, with 2.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
231 conserved acres
1% of Newcomb Township’s land. Who manages Newcomb Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency186 ac
Other state land42 ac
Private owners3 ac
Local Conservation Area · 159 acState Historic or Cultural Area · 42 acUnknown · 27 acPrivate Conservation · 3 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sagamon River Land Acquisition Pro Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 159 | Open |
| Nettie Hart Memorial Woods State Historic or Cultural Area | Other state land | 42 | Open |
| Riverview Retreat Center Unknown | Regional agency | 22 | Open |
| Unnamed Unknown | Regional agency | 5 | Open |
| Mahomet Botanical Area Private Conservation | Private owners | 3 | Closed |
Things to do
1 places to go in Newcomb Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Newcomb Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
4 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 3.1 mi
Sycamore Trail1.3 mi
Bottomland Trail0.8 mi
Prairie Trail0.6 mi
Wildcat Slough Trail0.5 mi
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
1Baseball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Hazen BridgeStructure · listed 1994
About itWhen to get out
August is the best month for walking in Newcomb 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 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 38 | 50 | 63 | 74 | 83 | 85 | 84 | 79 | 66 | 51 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 1.9 | 2.7 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 2.3 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Newcomb Township →
Next door
Newcomb Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newcomb Township | 1% | 0.1 | 136 | 25% | C+ |
| Mahomet Township | 4% | 0.4 | 67 | 89% | A− |
| Mahomet | 6% | 1.1 | 53 | 92% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Newcomb Township
Where can I hike in Newcomb Township?
The longest trail networks: Sangamon River Forest Preserve, 2.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Newcomb Township is conserved land?
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 Newcomb Township’s trails?
Sangamon River Forest Preserve doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Newcomb Township?
2,188 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Newcomb Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 229 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Newcomb Township have?
Ahead of 38% 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 Newcomb 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 →