Shabbona Lake State Recreation Area
Managed by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
1,464 acres12.1 mi of trail
Snowmobile TrailTomahawk TrailArrowhead TrailPapara Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: TheCatalyst31 · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Shabbona Township
Shabbona Township has 1,540 acres of parks, 1,424 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Shabbona Lake State Recreation Area (12.1 mi), Chief Shabbona Forest Preserve (1 mi). 7% of Shabbona Township’s land is conserved, about 1,595 acres. 79% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
1,595 acres · of 34.7 sq mi of land
Trails
13 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,540 ac
1,424 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
79%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Shabbona Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Shabbona Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Shabbona Township is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, trail miles lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Shabbona Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (13 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land1,424 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,540 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home79% 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 84%
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.
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 Shabbona Lake State Recreation Area, with 12.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Chief Shabbona Forest Preserve
Managed by DeKalb County Forest Preserves
99 acres1 mi of trail
Snowmobile Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Purdy Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Shabbona Lake State Recreation Area1,464 acres · 12.1 mi of trail · Illinois Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsChief Shabbona Forest Preserve99 acres · 1 mi of trail · DeKalb County Forest Preserves
DirectionsGordon Korth Park7 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsPurdy Park1 acres
Lions Park1 acres
Who protects it
1,595 conserved acres
7% of Shabbona Township’s land. Who manages Shabbona Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources1,515 ac
Private owners79 ac
Town or city1 ac
State Recreation Area · 1,515 acLocal Recreation Area · 79 acLocal Park · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shabbona Lake State Park State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 1,515 | Open |
| Indian Oaks Country Club Local Recreation Area | Private owners | 79 | Open |
| Shabbona Village Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in Shabbona Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Shabbona Township
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Shabbona Township
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Shabbona Township
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in Shabbona Township
Shabbona Lake State Park CampgroundIn Shabbona Lake State Recreation Area · Illinois Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsTrails & water
6 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 13.1 mi
Snowmobile Trail4.8 mi
Tomahawk Trail2.5 mi
Arrowhead Trail2.5 mi
Papara Trail1.2 mi
Somonauk Point Trail0.3 mi
Touch the Earth Trail0.1 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
3Baseball
2Volleyball
1Soccer
1Multi-sport
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Shabbona Township: 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) | 29 | 34 | 46 | 60 | 71 | 80 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 62 | 47 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 1.7 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 4.7 | 4.8 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.8 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Shabbona Township →
Next door
Shabbona Township and its neighbors
Shabbona 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shabbona Township | 7% | 0.4 | 1,424 | 79% | A− |
| Willow Creek Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Clinton Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 8 | 76% | C− |
| Afton 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 Shabbona Township
Where can I hike in Shabbona Township?
The longest trail networks: Shabbona Lake State Recreation Area, 12.1 miles; Chief Shabbona Forest Preserve, 1 miles; Gordon Korth Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Shabbona Township is conserved land?
7% 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 Shabbona Township’s trails?
Shabbona Lake State Recreation Area and Chief Shabbona Forest Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Shabbona Township?
2,484 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Shabbona Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,540 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Shabbona Township have?
Ahead of 84% 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 Shabbona 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 →