Hennepin Canal Feeder Parkway State Park
Managed by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
44 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Photo: Pdubs.94 · CC BY 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Rock Falls
5% of Rock Falls’ land is conserved, and 99% of residents live within a half mile of a park
The biggest trail networks: Hennepin Canal Feeder Parkway State Park (0.6 mi). 173 acres are parks and preserves, 20 per 1,000 residents. 5% of Rock Falls’ land is conserved, about 134 acres.
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns · #211 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
134 acres · of 4.0 sq mi of land
Trails
1.8 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
173 ac
20 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.6 mi
1.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Rock Falls?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Rock Falls have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Rock Falls is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns, #211 of 768 in Illinois. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Rock Falls’ overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land20 acres of park per 1,000 residents (173 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13BParks close to home99% of residents within a half mile of a park · IL 88% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 79%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 73%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. 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 Hennepin Canal Feeder Parkway State Park, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 14 parks & preserves
Hennepin Canal Feeder Parkway State Park44 acres · 0.6 mi of trail · Illinois Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsRun Bike and Walk Park4 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsCentennial Park53 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsSieglinger Park17 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsJohn W. Bowman Family Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsDillon Park6 acres
DirectionsWallingford Park6 acres
Seward Park6 acres
DirectionsRock Falls Rotary Park3 acres
Lower Dam Park3 acres
DirectionsNims Park2 acres
Kiwanis Park2 acres
DirectionsOptimist Park1 acres
DirectionsVeterans Monument1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
134 conserved acres
5% of Rock Falls’ land. Who manages Rock Falls’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city70 ac
Other state land64 ac
Local Park · 70 acState Recreation Area · 64 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hennepin Canal State Recreation Area | Other state land | 64 | Open |
| Centennial Park Local Park | Town or city | 26 | Open |
| A.V. Sieglinger Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Dillion Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Waillingford Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Seward'S Riverside Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Rotary Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Lower Dam Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Optimist Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Kiwanis Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
12 places to go in Rock Falls
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Rock Falls
Fire TruckIn Centennial Park
DirectionsPlus 7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Rock Falls
Hennepin Feeder Canal
DirectionsPlus 2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Rock Falls
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
19Baseball
6Tennis
2Soccer
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Col. Edward N. Kirk HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Rock Falls: 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 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 35 | 48 | 61 | 72 | 81 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 64 | 48 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 1.7 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 5.2 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 2.1 |
January is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 5.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Rock Falls →
Next door
Rock Falls and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rock Falls | 5% | 0.5 | 20 | 99% | A− |
| Coloma Township | 3% | 0.3 | 23 | 91% | B+ |
| Sterling | 4% | 0.5 | 11 | 96% | B+ |
| Sterling 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 Rock Falls
Where can I hike in Rock Falls?
The longest trail networks: Hennepin Canal Feeder Parkway State Park, 0.6 miles; Run Bike and Walk Park, 0.4 miles; Centennial Park, 0.3 miles; Sieglinger Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Rock Falls 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 Rock Falls’ trails?
Hennepin Canal Feeder Parkway State Park and Run Bike and Walk Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Rock Falls?
1.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Rock Falls?
1,859 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Rock Falls or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 173 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Rock Falls have?
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #211 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 Rock Falls 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 →