Spoon River State Forest
Managed by Illinois DNR
77 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
DOutdoors
Outdoors in Persifer Township
Few parks or trails are on the map in Persifer Township
1% of Persifer Township’s land is conserved, about 325 acres. 2.4 miles of mapped trail cross Persifer Township, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 8% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
325 acres · of 34.7 sq mi of land
Trails
2.4 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
1 beach · 2 boat launches
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Persifer Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Persifer Township is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; conserved land comes closest.
D
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Persifer Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4CPark land0.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (0 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13DParks close to home0% of residents within a half mile of a park · IL 88% · U.S. 72%D−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 8%
LessMore
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Persifer 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 still be D. 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.
Who protects it
325 conserved acres
1% of Persifer Township’s land. Who manages Persifer Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional Water Districts167 ac
State natural resources158 ac
Conservation Easement · 167 acUnknown · 158 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 167 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spoon River State Forest Unknown | State natural resources | 158 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Persifer Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Persifer Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Persifer Township
2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Knox Road 1250 East0.9 mi
Knox Road 1600 East0.6 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Persifer Township: April, August 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 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 36 | 49 | 63 | 73 | 82 | 85 | 83 | 77 | 64 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 1.8 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 3.8 | 4.9 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 2.0 |
January is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.9 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Persifer Township →
Next door
Persifer Township and its neighbors
Persifer Township has the most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persifer Township | 1% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Truro Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Knox Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 2 | 46% | D |
| Copley 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 Persifer Township
How much of Persifer 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 Persifer Township’s trails?
Spoon River State Forest doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Persifer Township?
5,425 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Persifer Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 159 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Persifer Township have?
Ahead of 8% 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 Persifer 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 →