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Rockvale Township, IL 05Photo: Ben Jacobson (Kranar Drogin) · CC BY 2.5
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Rockvale Township

Rockvale Township has 492 acres of parks, 299 for every 1,000 residents

The biggest trail networks: Bald Hill Prairie Preserve (4.3 mi), Lowden State Park (2.4 mi). 20 miles of mapped trail cross Rockvale Township, 0.6 per square mile of land. 6% of Rockvale Township’s land is conserved, about 1,290 acres.

Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Conserved land
6%
1,290 acres · of 34.8 sq mi of land
Trails
20 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
492 ac
299 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
34%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
922 ft
Bald Hill
Lakes & rivers
3

What kind of outdoors town is Rockvale Township?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Room to roam299 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Rockvale Township have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Rockvale Township is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns. 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 Rockvale Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (20 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land299 acres of park per 1,000 residents (492 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13AParks close to home34% 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 72%
LessMore
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.

12
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 Bald Hill Prairie Preserve, with 4.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Bald Hill Prairie Preserve

Nature preserve
378 acres4.3 mi of trail
Bald Hill LoopCemetery LoopBig Tree Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Lowden State Park

Nature preserve
190 acres2.4 mi of trail
Black Hawk TrailPines TrailHeckman Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it

1,290 conserved acres

6% of Rockvale Township’s land. Who manages Rockvale Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

State natural resources955 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits221 ac
Other state land192 ac
Regional agency149 ac
Town or city146 ac
Joint103 ac
Private owners1 ac
Conservation Easement · 699 acState Other or Unknown · 478 acState Conservation Area · 244 acState Park · 192 acLocal Park · 103 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 221 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 10 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Nardi Hills
State Other or Unknown
State natural resources478Unknown
Lowden State Park
State Park
Other state land192Open
Commonwealth Edison Prairie
State Conservation Area
Town or city146Open
By-com
Local Park
Joint103Open
Ripplinger - Gouker Prairie Preserve
State Conservation Area
Regional agency51Closed
He-Lo Wetland Preserve
Local Conservation Area
Regional agency51Open
Etnyre Preserve
State Conservation Area
Regional agency47Closed
Stronghold Hill Prairie Natural Heritage Landmark
Private Historic or Cultural
Private owners1Closed
Things to do

8 places to go in Rockvale Township

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Campgrounds in Rockvale Township
Shady Rest camping areaIn Lowden State Park · Lowden State Park
Directions
Sun ValleyIn Lowden State Park · Lowden State Park
Directions
White OakIn Lowden State Park · Lowden State Park
Directions
Trails & water

6 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Horses · 10.5 mi
Black Hawk Trail1.5 mi
Cemetery Loop1.5 mi
Bald Hill Loop1.3 mi
Pines Trail0.4 mi
Big Tree Trail0.3 mi
Heckman Trail0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Leaf RiverRock RiverSilver Creek
History along the way

1 place on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).

History →
Indian StatueObject · listed 2009
About it
When to get out

September is the best month for walking in Rockvale Township

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.410.511.813.314.615.215.013.912.411.09.79.1
High (°F)293447607281848275634734
Rain (in)1.61.72.43.84.45.24.14.03.63.02.42.0

January is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 5.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Rockvale Township →

Next door

Rockvale Township and its neighbors

Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Oregon-Nashua Township39 miMarion Township26 miRockvale Township20 miByron Township12 miPine Rock Township1.7 miMount Morris Township1.0 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Rockvale Township6%0.629934%B+
Marion Township2%0.6227%C
Byron Township3%0.34565%B
Mount Morris Townshipunder 1%under 0.1779%C−
Oregon-Nashua Township19%1.075284%A+
Pine Rock 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 Rockvale Township

Where can I hike in Rockvale Township?

The longest trail networks: Bald Hill Prairie Preserve, 4.3 miles; Lowden State Park, 2.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Rockvale Township is conserved land?

6% 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 Rockvale Township’s trails?

Bald Hill Prairie Preserve and Lowden State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Is there public land near Rockvale Township?

6,773 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Rockvale Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 492 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Rockvale Township have?

Ahead of 72% 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 Rockvale Township neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →