Fireman's Park
Park
10 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Washington Township
Washington Township has 42 acres of parks, 6.5 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Fireman's Park (0.5 mi). 1.2 miles of mapped trail cross Washington Township. 69% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 23% of U.S. towns · #696 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
196 acres · of 44.8 sq mi of land
Trails
1.2 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
42 ac
6.5 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
69%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Washington Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Washington Township is ahead of 23% of U.S. towns, #696 of 768 in Illinois. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Washington Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land6.5 acres of park per 1,000 residents (42 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home69% 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 23%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 9%
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Washington Township. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. 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 Fireman's Park, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Beecher Lion's Park
Park
7 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Women's Welfare Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Depot Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
196 conserved acres
1% of Washington Township’s land. Who manages Washington Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency158 ac
Town or city37 ac
Conservation Easement · 158 acLocal Park · 37 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 158 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Welton Stedt Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Firemen's Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Lion's Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Prairie Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Depot Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Nantucket Cove Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Hunter's Chase East Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Hunter's Chase Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Washington Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Washington Township
Buddy's Playground
DirectionsPlus 3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
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
2Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Washington 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) | 32 | 36 | 48 | 61 | 72 | 81 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 64 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Washington Township →
Next door
Washington Township and its neighbors
Washington 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 7 | 69% | C− |
| Will Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 3 | 38% | D |
| Crete Township | 3% | 0.2 | 9 | 57% | C+ |
| Yellowhead Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 1 | 49% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Washington Township
Where can I hike in Washington Township?
The longest trail networks: Fireman's Park, 0.5 miles; Beecher Lion's Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Washington 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 Washington Township’s trails?
Fireman's Park and Beecher Lion's Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Washington Township?
4,482 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Washington Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 42 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Washington Township have?
Ahead of 23% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #696 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 Washington 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 →