Mercyhealth Sportscore One
Managed by Rockford Park District
145 acres2 mi of trail
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Owen Township
Owen Township has 552 acres of parks, 154 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Mercyhealth Sportscore One (2 mi), Winnebago County Forest Preserve Headquarters (0.5 mi). 5.0 miles of mapped trail cross Owen Township, 0.1 per square mile of land. 28% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns · #526 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
514 acres · of 35.3 sq mi of land
Trails
5.0 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
552 ac
154 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
28%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.7 mi
2.7 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
6 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Owen Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Owen Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Owen Township is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns, #526 of 768 in Illinois. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Owen Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land154 acres of park per 1,000 residents (552 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13AParks close to home28% 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 47%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 32%
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 Mercyhealth Sportscore One, with 2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Winnebago County Forest Preserve Headquarters
Nature preserve
47 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Kennedy Park
Park
11 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
514 conserved acres
2% of Owen Township’s land. Who manages Owen Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County378 ac
Regional agency137 ac
Local Conservation Area · 378 acLocal Recreation Area · 115 acLocal Park · 22 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atwood Homestead Forest Preserve Local Conservation Area | County | 333 | Open |
| Mercy Sportscore Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 115 | Open |
| Winnebago Forest Preserve Headquarters Local Conservation Area | County | 45 | Open |
| Kennedy Park Local Park | Regional agency | 22 | Open |
Things to do
13 places to go in Owen Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Owen Township
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Owen Township
6 boat launches without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Owen Township
4 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
12Soccer
2Tennis
1Softball
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Owen Township: April and September
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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 33 | 46 | 59 | 71 | 80 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 62 | 46 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 1.6 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 5.4 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 1.9 |
January is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Owen Township →
Next door
Owen Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Harlem Township52 miRockford Township51 miRockford30 miRockton Township27 miRoscoe Township7.2 miRockton7.2 miOwen Township5.0 miMachesney Park5.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owen Township | 2% | 0.1 | 154 | 28% | B− |
| Harlem Township | 18% | 1.6 | 96 | 84% | A+ |
| Machesney Park | 6% | 0.4 | 22 | 85% | B+ |
| Rockford Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Rockford | 6% | 0.5 | 17 | 87% | B+ |
| Roscoe Township | 4% | 0.2 | 34 | 44% | B− |
| Rockton Township | 10% | 0.8 | 57 | 70% | A− |
| Rockton | 12% | 1.0 | 69 | 59% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Owen Township
Where can I hike in Owen Township?
The longest trail networks: Mercyhealth Sportscore One, 2 miles; Winnebago County Forest Preserve Headquarters, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Owen Township is conserved land?
2% 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 Owen Township’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Mercyhealth Sportscore One (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Owen Township?
2.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.7 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Owen Township?
12,962 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Owen Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 552 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Owen Township have?
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #526 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 Owen 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 →