Allen Park
Park
21 acres0.3 mi of trail
Allen Park Toboggan Hill
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
C+Outdoors
Outdoors in South Ottawa Township
South Ottawa Township has 144 acres of parks, 17 for every 1,000 residents
84% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3.3 miles of mapped trail cross South Ottawa Township, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns · #549 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
70 acres · of 19.7 sq mi of land
Trails
3.3 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
144 ac
17 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
84%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is South Ottawa Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does South Ottawa Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, South Ottawa Township is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns, #549 of 768 in Illinois. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of South Ottawa Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land17 acres of park per 1,000 residents (144 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13BParks close to home84% 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 44%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 29%
Water is 7% of South Ottawa Township’s area (1 of 21 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read under 1%.
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 Allen Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Peck Park
Park
19 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Varland Park
Park
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Kiwanis Park
Park
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
70 conserved acres
1% of South Ottawa Township’s land. Water is left out: South Ottawa Township has 19.7 square miles of land and 1.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages South Ottawa Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city46 ac
Other state land24 ac
Local Park · 25 acState Conservation Area · 24 acLocal Recreation Area · 21 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allen Park Local Park | Town or city | 21 | Open |
| Peck Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 18 | Open |
| Erant's Marsh State Conservation Area | Other state land | 14 | Open |
| Catlin Salt Marsh State Conservation Area | Other state land | 10 | Open |
| Varland Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Kiwanis Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| South Side Open Space Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
27 places to go in South Ottawa Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in South Ottawa Township
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in South Ottawa Township
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Waterfalls in South Ottawa Township
20 waterfalls without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.8 mi
Allen Park Toboggan Hill0.1 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
6Baseball
4Tennis
2Basketball
1Soccer
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in South Ottawa 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 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 36 | 49 | 62 | 73 | 82 | 85 | 83 | 77 | 65 | 49 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.5 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in South Ottawa Township →
Next door
South Ottawa Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Deer Park Township31 miFall River Township5.0 miSouth Ottawa Township3.3 miOttawa Township3.2 miFarm Ridge Township1.6 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Ottawa Township | 1% | 0.2 | 17 | 84% | C+ |
| Ottawa Township | 5% | 0.2 | 36 | 87% | B+ |
| Fall River Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Farm Ridge Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Deer Park 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 Ottawa Township
Where can I hike in South Ottawa Township?
The longest trail networks: Allen Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of South Ottawa Township is conserved land?
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 South Ottawa Township’s trails?
Allen Park and Peck Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near South Ottawa Township?
6,847 acres of parks and open public land lie inside South Ottawa Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 144 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does South Ottawa Township have?
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #549 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 South Ottawa 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 →