Kankakee Sands in Illinois
Managed by The Nature Conservancy
700 acres
Dogs usually not allowed
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Pembroke Township
Pembroke Township has 751 acres of parks, 442 for every 1,000 residents
7% of Pembroke Township’s land is conserved, about 2,347 acres. 2.0 miles of mapped trail cross Pembroke Township. 20% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
2,347 acres · of 52.3 sq mi of land
Trails
2.0 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
751 ac
442 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
20%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Pembroke Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Pembroke Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Pembroke Township is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Pembroke Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land442 acres of park per 1,000 residents (751 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13AParks close to home20% 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 50%
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Tallmadge Sand Forest Land and Water Reserve
Managed by The Nature Conservancy
541 acres
Dogs usually not allowed
No trailhead mapped yet
Pembroke Savanna Nature Preserve
Managed by The Nature Conservancy
122 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dogs usually not allowed
Directionsto the parking lot
Carl N. Becker Savanna Nature Preserve
Managed by The Nature Conservancy
37 acres
Dogs usually not allowed
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Pembroke Savanna Nature Preserve122 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · The Nature Conservancy
DirectionsKankakee Sands in Illinois700 acres · The Nature Conservancy
Tallmadge Sand Forest Land and Water Reserve541 acres · The Nature Conservancy
Carl N. Becker Savanna Nature Preserve37 acres · The Nature Conservancy
Kankakee National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area3 acres · United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Who protects it
2,347 conserved acres
7% of Pembroke Township’s land. Who manages Pembroke Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits1,929 ac
State conservation1,186 ac
Private owners135 ac
State natural resources103 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service7 ac
Private Conservation · 2,049 acConservation Easement · 901 acUnknown Easement · 300 acState Conservation Area · 103 acNational Wildlife Refuge · 7 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 203 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 26 of 58 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kankakee Sands Fee Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1,624 | Unknown |
| Kankakee Sands Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 281 | Unknown |
| Iroquois County State Fish and Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 103 | Open |
| Stateline Savanna Private Conservation | Private owners | 51 | Restricted |
| Little Beaver Creek Private Conservation | Private owners | 47 | Restricted |
| Sweet Fern Savanna Private Conservation | Private owners | 37 | Closed |
| Grand Kankakee Marsh National Wildlife Refuge - Kankakee County Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 9 | Open |
| Kankakee National Wildlife Refuge And Conservation Area National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 7 | Restricted |
When to get out
The best walking months in Pembroke 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) | 9.5 | 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 | 84 | 83 | 78 | 65 | 50 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 5.0 | 4.6 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 2.7 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 5.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Pembroke Township →
Next door
Pembroke Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Beaverville Township23 miLake Township8.7 miMcClellan Township8.6 miSt. Anne Township3.0 miPembroke Township2.0 miGaneer Township1.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pembroke Township | 7% | under 0.1 | 442 | 20% | B− |
| St. Anne Township | 3% | 0.1 | 298 | 46% | B− |
| Beaverville Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Ganeer Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 10 | 58% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Pembroke Township
Where can I hike in Pembroke Township?
The longest trail networks: Pembroke Savanna Nature Preserve, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Pembroke Township is conserved land?
7% 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 Pembroke Township’s trails?
Kankakee Sands in Illinois and Tallmadge Sand Forest Land and Water Reserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Pembroke Township?
4,834 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Pembroke Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 753 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Pembroke Township have?
Ahead of 50% 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 Pembroke 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 →