Canton Lake
Nature preserve
214 acres0.1 mi of trail
Lake Canton Blue Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Orion Township
Orion Township has 440 acres of parks, 380 for every 1,000 residents
0.2 miles of mapped trail cross Orion Township. 40% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3% of Orion Township’s land is conserved, about 637 acres.
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
637 acres · of 36.4 sq mi of land
Trails
0.2 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
440 ac
380 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
40%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Orion Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Orion Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Orion Township is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Orion Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4DPark land380 acres of park per 1,000 residents (440 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13AParks close to home40% 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 44%
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 Canton Lake, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Canton Youth Acres
Nature preserve
59 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
637 conserved acres
3% of Orion Township’s land. Who manages Orion Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city362 ac
Regional Water Districts201 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits75 ac
Local Park · 217 acConservation Easement · 201 acState Recreation Area · 144 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 65 acState Conservation Area · 10 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 201 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canton Lake Local Park | Town or city | 217 | Open |
| Canton Waterworks State Recreation Area | Town or city | 144 | Open |
| Canton Youth Acres Private Recreation or Education | Land trusts & nonprofits | 65 | Open |
| Nature Conservancy State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 10 | Open |
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Lake Canton Blue Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Orion 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 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 38 | 51 | 64 | 74 | 83 | 86 | 84 | 78 | 65 | 51 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 1.9 | 1.9 | 2.5 | 3.9 | 5.0 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.1 | 2.7 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.0 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Orion Township →
Next door
Orion Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Canton Township3.7 miTrivoli Township1.3 miBanner Township0.8 miTimber Township0.4 miOrion Township0.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orion Township | 3% | under 0.1 | 380 | 40% | C+ |
| Canton Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Banner Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Timber Township | 12% | under 0.1 | 1,148 | 41% | B |
| Trivoli 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 Orion Township
Where can I hike in Orion Township?
The longest trail networks: Canton Lake, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Orion Township is conserved land?
3% 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 Orion Township’s trails?
Canton Lake and Canton Youth Acres don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Orion Township?
27,850 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Orion Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 440 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Orion Township have?
Ahead of 44% 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 Orion 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 →