Sycamore Forest Preserve
Park
54 acres0.9 mi of trail
Grass TrailGreat Western Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
North Grove School · Photo: lester1950 · CC BY-SA 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Sycamore Township
Sycamore Township has 415 acres of parks, 28 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Sycamore Forest Preserve (0.9 mi), Sycamore Lake Rotary Park (0.7 mi), Old Mill Park (0.5 mi). 83% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5.3 miles of mapped trail cross Sycamore Township, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 54% of U.S. towns · #473 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
384 acres · of 34.3 sq mi of land
Trails
5.3 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
415 ac
28 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
83%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.5 mi
1.8 mi lanes · 3.7 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Sycamore Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Sycamore Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sycamore Township is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns, #473 of 768 in Illinois. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Sycamore Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land28 acres of park per 1,000 residents (415 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home83% 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 54%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 38%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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 Sycamore Forest Preserve, with 0.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Sycamore Lake Rotary Park
Park
17 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Old Mill Park
Park
25 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Leon D. Larson Memorial Park
Park
22 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Sycamore Forest Preserve54 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
Sycamore Lake Rotary Park17 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsOld Mill Park25 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Leon D. Larson Memorial Park22 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Wetzel Park3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Founders Park4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Who protects it
384 conserved acres
2% of Sycamore Township’s land. Who manages Sycamore Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city281 ac
Regional agency67 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits36 ac
Local Park · 187 acLocal Recreation Area · 105 acUnknown · 45 acConservation Easement · 36 acState Conservation Area · 12 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 36 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sycamore Golf Course & Golf Club House Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 105 | Open |
| Emil Cassier Park Local Park | Town or city | 71 | Open |
| Sycamore Community Park & Sports Complex Unknown | Town or city | 43 | Open |
| Walter Becker Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 32 | Open |
| Old Mill Park Local Park | Regional agency | 22 | Open |
| Leon D Larson Memorial Park Local Park | Regional agency | 21 | Open |
| Sycamore Lake Rotary Park Local Park | Regional agency | 16 | Open |
| Chief Black Partridge Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Future Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Moose Range Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
11 places to go in Sycamore Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Sycamore Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Public pools in Sycamore Township
Sycamore Swimming Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Sycamore Township
9 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
2 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.4 miUnpaved · 1.6 mi
Great Western Trail1.4 mi
Grass Trail0.9 mi
Biking & sports
5.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.8 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
3.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Great Western TrailBike route
0.6 miCourts & fields
10Tennis
2Football
2Soccer
1Baseball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
North Grove SchoolBuilding · listed 2012
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Sycamore 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 34 | 46 | 59 | 71 | 80 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 62 | 47 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 1.8 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 4.9 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 1.9 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.9 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Sycamore Township →
Next door
Sycamore Township and its neighbors
Sycamore Township has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Burlington Township7.0 miSycamore Township5.3 miCortland Township5.0 miMayfield Township2.7 miSycamore2.3 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sycamore Township | 2% | 0.2 | 28 | 83% | B− |
| Mayfield Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Burlington Township | 5% | 0.2 | 261 | 26% | B |
| Cortland Township | 1% | 0.1 | 11 | 83% | C+ |
| Sycamore | 8% | 0.2 | 20 | 87% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Sycamore Township
Where can I hike in Sycamore Township?
The longest trail networks: Sycamore Forest Preserve, 0.9 miles; Sycamore Lake Rotary Park, 0.7 miles; Old Mill Park, 0.5 miles; Leon D. Larson Memorial Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Sycamore Township is conserved land?
2% 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 Sycamore Township’s trails?
Sycamore Forest Preserve and Sycamore Lake Rotary Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Sycamore Township?
5.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.8 of painted or protected lanes and 3.7 of off-road paths. Named routes: Great Western Trail.
Is there public land near Sycamore Township?
9,215 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sycamore Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 418 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Sycamore Township have?
Ahead of 54% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #473 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 Sycamore 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 →