Braidwood Dunes and Savanna Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
333 acres2.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Reed Township
Reed Township has 12 miles of mapped trails, 0.7 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Braidwood Dunes and Savanna Nature Preserve (2.4 mi), Old Smokey City Park (1 mi). 5% of Reed Township’s land is conserved, about 493 acres. 77 acres are parks and preserves, 11 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns · #405 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
493 acres · of 17.1 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
77 ac
11 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
62%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
7
3 beaches · 7 boat launches
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Reed Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Reed Township is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns, #405 of 768 in Illinois. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Reed Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land11 acres of park per 1,000 residents (77 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home62% of residents within a half mile of a park · IL 88% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 60%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 47%
Water is 5% of Reed Township’s area (1 of 18 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 4%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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 Braidwood Dunes and Savanna Nature Preserve, with 2.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Luke H. Goodrich Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
493 conserved acres
5% of Reed Township’s land. Water is left out: Reed Township has 17.1 square miles of land and 0.9 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Reed Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency393 ac
State conservation308 ac
Private owners84 ac
Town or city6 ac
State Conservation Area · 338 acConservation Easement · 308 acPrivate Conservation · 84 acLocal Park · 61 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Braidwood Dunes and Savanna Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | Regional agency | 333 | Closed |
| Braidwood Dunes and Savanna Private Conservation | Private owners | 84 | Closed |
| K-Mine Park Local Park | Regional agency | 44 | Open |
| Braidwood Park Local Park | Regional agency | 16 | Open |
| Godley Railroad Prairie State Conservation Area | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Luke H. Goodrich Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
18 places to go in Reed Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Reed Township
3 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Reed Township
8 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Reed Township
7 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
7 lakes & rivers
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
9Baseball
7Basketball
4Tennis
2Soccer
1Skate park
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Reed 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 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 37 | 49 | 62 | 73 | 82 | 85 | 83 | 77 | 65 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 2.6 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Reed Township →
Next door
Reed Township and its neighbors
Reed Township has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Wilmington Township12 miReed Township12 miCuster Township9.0 miBraceville Township3.1 miBraidwood2.8 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reed Township | 5% | 0.7 | 11 | 62% | B |
| Wilmington Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Braidwood | 1% | 0.5 | 4 | 60% | C |
| Braceville Township | 4% | 0.2 | 63 | 71% | B |
| Custer Township | 13% | 0.3 | 479 | 45% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Reed Township
Where can I hike in Reed Township?
The longest trail networks: Braidwood Dunes and Savanna Nature Preserve, 2.4 miles; Old Smokey City Park, 1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Reed Township is conserved land?
5% 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 Reed Township’s trails?
Braidwood Dunes and Savanna Nature Preserve and Old Smokey City Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Reed Township?
27,955 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Reed Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 77 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Reed Township have?
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #405 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 Reed 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 →