Christman Park
Park
16 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Ross Township
Ross Township has 6.4 miles of mapped trails, 0.1 for every square mile of land
1% of Ross Township’s land is conserved, about 425 acres. 64% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 16 acres are parks and preserves, 11 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 38% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
425 acres · of 43.5 sq mi of land
Trails
6.4 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
16 ac
11 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
64%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ross Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ross Township is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ross 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 (6 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land11 acres of park per 1,000 residents (16 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home64% 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 38%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be C+. 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
425 conserved acres
1% of Ross Township’s land. Who manages Ross Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional Water Districts289 ac
Private owners146 ac
State conservation51 ac
Conservation Easement · 340 acPrivate Conservation · 102 acState Conservation Area · 44 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 280 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Fork Vermilion River Private Conservation | Private owners | 102 | Restricted |
| Jordan Creek of the North Fork Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | Private owners | 44 | Closed |
Things to do
2 places to go in Ross Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Ross Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
1Football
1Softball
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Ross 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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 39 | 50 | 63 | 74 | 83 | 85 | 83 | 78 | 66 | 51 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 1.9 | 2.7 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 2.3 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.8 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Ross Township →
Next door
Ross Township and its neighbors
Ross Township has the most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ross Township | 1% | 0.1 | 11 | 64% | C+ |
| Grant Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 8 | 58% | C− |
| South Ross 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 Ross Township
How much of Ross 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 Ross Township’s trails?
Christman Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Ross Township?
4,229 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ross Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 16 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ross Township have?
Ahead of 38% 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 Ross 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 →