Kankakee County Fairgrounds
Park
91 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Otto Township
Otto Township has 106 acres of parks, 55 for every 1,000 residents
10% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1.6 miles of mapped trail cross Otto Township.
Ahead of 22% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
21 acres · of 48.2 sq mi of land
Trails
1.6 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
106 ac
55 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
10%
of residents within ½ mile
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Otto Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Otto Township is ahead of 22% 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 Otto Township’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land55 acres of park per 1,000 residents (106 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home10% 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 22%
LessMore
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Otto Township. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Gooseberry Island Nature Preserve
Managed by Departmenr of Natural Resources
14 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Iroquois Woods Nature Preserve
Managed by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
21 conserved acres
under 1% of Otto Township’s land. Who manages Otto Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources18 ac
State conservation18 ac
Private owners3 ac
State Conservation Area · 18 acConservation Easement · 18 acPrivate Conservation · 3 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gooseberry Island Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 15 | Open |
| Otto Road Railroad Prairie Private Conservation | Private owners | 3 | Restricted |
| Iroquois Woods State Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 3 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Otto Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Otto Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Dog parks in Otto Township
1 dog park without a name on the map.
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Otto 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 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 37 | 49 | 62 | 73 | 82 | 85 | 83 | 78 | 65 | 50 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 4.9 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 2.6 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.9 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Otto Township →
Next door
Otto Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Pilot Township15 miAroma Township7.4 miKankakee Township5.6 miChebanse Township4.6 miLimestone Township1.7 miOtto Township1.6 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otto Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 55 | 10% | C− |
| Aroma Township | 1% | 0.2 | 37 | 54% | B− |
| Kankakee Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Chebanse Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 1 | 41% | D |
| Limestone Township | 3% | under 0.1 | 151 | 39% | B− |
| Pilot Township | under 1% | 0.3 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Otto Township
How much of Otto 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 Otto Township’s trails?
Kankakee County Fairgrounds and Gooseberry Island Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Otto Township?
5,418 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Otto Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 106 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Otto Township have?
Ahead of 22% 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 Otto 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 →