Marion County Fair Grounds
Park
57 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Paul Sableman from St. Louis, MO · CC BY 2.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Salem Township
Salem Township has 156 acres of parks, 17 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Marion County Fair Grounds (0.9 mi). 5.6 miles of mapped trail cross Salem Township, 0.2 per square mile of land. 64% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 37% of U.S. towns · #605 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
86 acres · of 35.4 sq mi of land
Trails
5.6 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
156 ac
17 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
64%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
5
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Salem Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Salem Township is ahead of 37% of U.S. towns, #605 of 768 in Illinois. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Salem Township’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land17 acres of park per 1,000 residents (156 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13BParks 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 37%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 21%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C 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 Marion County Fair Grounds, with 0.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Tully Park
Park
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Salem Reservoir Park
Park
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
86 conserved acres
under 1% of Salem Township’s land. Who manages Salem Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city86 ac
Local Park · 86 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bryan Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 63 | Open |
| Tully Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Kells Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Mueller Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Robert'S Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Salem Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Salem Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Salem Township
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.6 mi
West Wells0.1 mi
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
11Baseball
4Tennis
2Basketball
2Soccer
1Skate park
1Football
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 Salem 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) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 44 | 54 | 66 | 75 | 84 | 87 | 86 | 80 | 68 | 54 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 2.5 | 3.7 | 4.8 | 5.1 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 2.9 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 5.1 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Salem Township →
Next door
Salem Township and its neighbors
Salem 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salem Township | under 1% | 0.2 | 17 | 64% | C+ |
| Tonti Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Odin Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 6 | 27% | D |
| Raccoon Township | under 1% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Salem Township
Where can I hike in Salem Township?
The longest trail networks: Marion County Fair Grounds, 0.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Salem Township is conserved land?
under 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 Salem Township’s trails?
Marion County Fair Grounds and Bryan Memorial Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Salem Township?
2,198 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Salem Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 156 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Salem Township have?
Ahead of 37% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #605 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 Salem 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 →