Lodge County Park
Nature preserve
462 acres5.5 mi of trail
draftequestrian trail draftdraft pine tree trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Dual Freq · CC BY 2.5B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Sangamon Township
Sangamon Township has 407 acres of parks, 162 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Lodge County Park (5.5 mi), Sangamon Park (0.7 mi), Shady Rest Park (0.6 mi). 30% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 9.4 miles of mapped trail cross Sangamon Township, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns · #503 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
695 acres · of 47.1 sq mi of land
Trails
9.4 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
407 ac
162 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
30%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.4 mi
2.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Sangamon Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Sangamon Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sangamon Township is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns, #503 of 768 in Illinois. 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 Sangamon Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land162 acres of park per 1,000 residents (407 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13AParks close to home30% 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 50%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 35%
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 Lodge County Park, with 5.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Sangamon Park
Nature preserve
81 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Shady Rest Park
Park
56 acres0.6 mi of trail
shady rest pathRiverside Traildraft shady rest path
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
695 conserved acres
2% of Sangamon Township’s land. Who manages Sangamon Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city349 ac
Regional Water Districts298 ac
Regional agency29 ac
State conservation29 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits17 ac
Private owners2 ac
Local Park · 349 acConservation Easement · 327 acState Conservation Area · 29 acUnknown · 17 acPrivate Conservation · 2 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 298 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lodge Park Local Park | Town or city | 349 | Open |
| Shady Rest Forest Preserve State Conservation Area | Regional agency | 29 | Closed |
| Sangamon River Corridor Reserve Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 17 | Open |
| Mahomet Botanical Area Private Conservation | Private owners | 2 | Closed |
Things to do
3 places to go in Sangamon Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Sangamon Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in Sangamon Township
1 campground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
8 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 5.9 miUnpaved · 4.8 mi
draft3.3 mi
hope lives equestrian trail0.7 mi
equestrian trail draft0.3 mi
County Road E 1125 North0.3 mi
draft pine tree trail0.2 mi
shady rest path0.2 mi
Riverside Trail0.1 mi
draft shady rest path0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Equestrian
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 Sangamon 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 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 39 | 51 | 64 | 74 | 83 | 85 | 84 | 79 | 66 | 51 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 2.3 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Sangamon Township →
Next door
Sangamon Township and its neighbors
Sangamon Township has the second most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Mahomet Township15 miSangamon Township9.4 miMonticello Township8.2 miBlue Ridge Township7.1 miScott Township5.9 miGoose Creek Township2.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sangamon Township | 2% | 0.2 | 162 | 30% | B− |
| Scott Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Blue Ridge Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 3 | 61% | C− |
| Monticello Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Goose Creek Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Mahomet Township | 4% | 0.4 | 67 | 89% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Sangamon Township
Where can I hike in Sangamon Township?
The longest trail networks: Lodge County Park, 5.5 miles; Sangamon Park, 0.7 miles; Shady Rest Park, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Sangamon Township is conserved land?
2% 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 Sangamon Township’s trails?
Lodge County Park and Sangamon Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Sangamon Township?
2.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Sangamon Township?
5,379 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sangamon Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 424 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Sangamon Township have?
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #503 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 Sangamon 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 →