Homer Lake Forest Preserve
Managed by Champaign County Forest Preserves
670 acres10.4 mi of trail
West Lake TrailOak Ridge TrailTimberdoodle TrailSand Beach Cove Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in South Homer Township
South Homer Township has 704 acres of parks, 405 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Homer Lake Forest Preserve (10.4 mi), Hidden Acres at Homer Lake Forest Preserve (0.7 mi). 12 miles of mapped trail cross South Homer Township, 0.4 per square mile of land. 74% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
737 acres · of 28.0 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
704 ac
405 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
74%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is South Homer Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does South Homer Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, South Homer Township is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, conserved land lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of South Homer Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land405 acres of park per 1,000 residents (704 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13AParks close to home74% 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 78%
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 Homer Lake Forest Preserve, with 10.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hidden Acres at Homer Lake Forest Preserve
Managed by Champaign County Forest Preserves
29 acres0.7 mi of trail
Bluebell TrailPawpaw Loop
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Old Homer Park
Managed by Champaign County Forest Preserve
15 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Homer Park
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
737 conserved acres
4% of South Homer Township’s land. Who manages South Homer Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency709 ac
Private owners27 ac
State conservation26 ac
Local Conservation Area · 690 acPrivate Conservation · 27 acConservation Easement · 26 acUnknown · 19 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homer Lake Forest Preserve Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 690 | Open |
| Edgewood Farm Land And Water Reserve Private Conservation | Private owners | 27 | Closed |
| Old Homer Park Unknown | Regional agency | 13 | Open |
| Sylvester Woods Unknown | Regional agency | 7 | Open |
Things to do
9 places to go in South Homer Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in South Homer Township
Homer Lake Natural PlayscapeIn Homer Lake Forest Preserve
DirectionsSledding HillIn Homer Lake Forest Preserve
DirectionsPlus 3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in South Homer Township
4 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
9 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 11.1 mi
West Lake Trail3.4 mi
Oak Ridge Trail2.2 mi
Timberdoodle Trail1.3 mi
Sand Beach Cove Trail1.3 mi
Flicker Woods Trail1.3 mi
Collins Pond Trail0.6 mi
Bluebell Trail0.5 mi
Pawpaw Loop0.1 mi
Maple Sugar Grove0.1 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
2Baseball
1Soccer
1Tennis
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 South Homer 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 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 35 | 40 | 51 | 64 | 75 | 83 | 85 | 84 | 79 | 66 | 51 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 2.0 | 2.8 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.8 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in South Homer Township →
Next door
South Homer Township and its neighbors
South Homer Township has the most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
South Homer Township12 miVance Township5.1 miSidney Township2.8 miOgden Township1.7 miAyers Township0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Homer Township | 4% | 0.4 | 405 | 74% | A− |
| Vance Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Ayers Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Ogden Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | under 1 | 4% | D |
| Sidney 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 South Homer Township
Where can I hike in South Homer Township?
The longest trail networks: Homer Lake Forest Preserve, 10.4 miles; Hidden Acres at Homer Lake Forest Preserve, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of South Homer Township is conserved land?
4% 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 South Homer Township’s trails?
Homer Lake Forest Preserve and Hidden Acres at Homer Lake Forest Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near South Homer Township?
1,512 acres of parks and open public land lie inside South Homer Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 712 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does South Homer Township have?
Ahead of 78% 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 Homer 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 →