Marshall State Fish and Wildlife Area
Managed by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
914 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Steuben Township
Steuben Township has 2,088 acres of parks, 1,926 for every 1,000 residents
2,088 acres are parks and preserves, 1,926 per 1,000 residents. 12% of Steuben Township’s land is conserved, about 2,244 acres. 1.3 miles of mapped trail cross Steuben Township.
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
2,244 acres · of 28.9 sq mi of land
Trails
1.3 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,088 ac
1,926 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
46%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Steuben Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Steuben Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Steuben Township is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Steuben Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land1,926 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,088 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home46% 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 65%
LessMore
Water is 8% of Steuben Township’s area (3 of 32 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 11%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
2,244 conserved acres
12% of Steuben Township’s land. Water is left out: Steuben Township has 28.9 square miles of land and 2.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Steuben Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources2,115 ac
Private owners122 ac
State conservation55 ac
State Conservation Area · 2,121 acPrivate Conservation · 75 acConservation Easement · 55 acPrivate Historic or Cultural · 42 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 6 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 13 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marshall State Fish and Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 2,115 | Open |
| Hopewell Estates Hill Prairie Private Conservation | Private owners | 75 | Closed |
| Leigh Woods Natural Heritage Landmark Private Historic or Cultural | Private owners | 42 | Closed |
| Hopewell Hill Prairies Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | Private owners | 6 | Closed |
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
County Road 550 North1.0 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Steuben Township: August 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 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 37 | 50 | 63 | 74 | 83 | 85 | 83 | 78 | 65 | 50 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 1.9 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 3.7 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.8 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Steuben Township →
Next door
Steuben Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
La Prairie Township5.2 miChillicothe Township3.5 miLacon Township3.0 miWhitefield Township1.6 miSteuben Township1.3 miHenry Township0.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steuben Township | 12% | under 0.1 | 1,926 | 46% | B |
| Lacon Township | 31% | 0.2 | 1,350 | 91% | A |
| Whitefield Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| La Prairie Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Chillicothe Township | 15% | 0.2 | 174 | 71% | A− |
| Henry 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 Steuben Township
How much of Steuben Township is conserved land?
12% 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 Steuben Township’s trails?
Marshall State Fish and Wildlife Area doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Steuben Township?
11,437 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Steuben Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,088 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Steuben Township have?
Ahead of 65% 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 Steuben 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 →