Photo: User:Visviva · CC BY-SA 4.0South Fork Township has 2,771 acres of parks, 1,136 for every 1,000 residents
9% of South Fork Township’s land is conserved, about 3,584 acres. 3.1 miles of mapped trail cross South Fork Township. 54% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is South Fork Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does South Fork Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, South Fork Township is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
Water is 6% of South Fork Township’s area (4 of 66 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 8%.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
3,584 conserved acres
9% of South Fork Township’s land. Water is left out: South Fork Township has 62.2 square miles of land and 3.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages South Fork Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 836 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sangchris Lake State Resource Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 2,637 | Open |
| Ivarene Wild Life Sanctuary Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 111 | Open |
2 places to go in South Fork Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
2 lakes & rivers
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
August is the best month for walking in South Fork 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 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 36 | 41 | 52 | 65 | 75 | 84 | 86 | 85 | 80 | 67 | 52 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 2.0 | 2.9 | 4.3 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 2.3 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in South Fork Township →
South Fork Township and its neighbors
South Fork Township has the second 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Fork Township | 9% | under 0.1 | 1,136 | 54% | B |
| Taylorville Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Buckhart Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 4 | 55% | C− |
| Pawnee 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 South Fork Township
How much of South Fork Township is conserved land?
9% 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.
Is there public land near South Fork Township?
4,241 acres of parks and open public land lie inside South Fork Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,771 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does South Fork Township have?
Ahead of 64% 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 South Fork Township neighbors.
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 →