Kankakee River State Park
Managed by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
838 acres3.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Wesley Township
Wesley Township has 967 acres of parks, 531 for every 1,000 residents
11% of Wesley Township’s land is conserved, about 1,998 acres. The biggest trail networks: Kankakee River State Park (3.1 mi). 5.0 miles of mapped trail cross Wesley Township, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
11%
1,998 acres · of 27.9 sq mi of land
Trails
5.0 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
967 ac
531 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
54%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.7 mi
3.7 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Wesley Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Wesley Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Wesley Township is ahead of 73% 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 Wesley Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land531 acres of park per 1,000 residents (967 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home54% 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 73%
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 Kankakee River State Park, with 3.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
1,998 conserved acres
11% of Wesley Township’s land. Who manages Wesley Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County791 ac
State natural resources729 ac
Regional agency478 ac
State conservation48 ac
Local Conservation Area · 1,074 acState Conservation Area · 861 acLocal Recreation Area · 63 acConservation Easement · 48 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kankakee River State Park State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 729 | Open |
| Forked Creek Preserve 2 Local Conservation Area | County | 192 | Restricted |
| Forked Creek Preserve 1 Local Conservation Area | County | 152 | Restricted |
| John Wesley Preserve 2 Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 138 | Restricted |
| John Wesley Preserve 1 Local Conservation Area | County | 133 | Restricted |
| Donohue Grove Preserve 1 Local Conservation Area | County | 132 | Restricted |
| DGP Donohue Grove Preserve 2 State Conservation Area | Regional agency | 132 | Open |
| Forked Creek Preserve 5 Local Conservation Area | County | 99 | Restricted |
| DGP Donohue Grove Preserve 3 Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 78 | Open |
| Wauponsee Glacial Trail 1 Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 63 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
3 places to go in Wesley Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Dog parks in Wesley Township
Ballou Road Dog Park
DirectionsCampgrounds in Wesley Township
Chippewa CampgroundIn Kankakee River State Park
DirectionsCuster Park Campground
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.6 miHorses · 0.6 mi
Ballou Road Access Trail0.7 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
3.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Kankakee River TrailBike route
3.5 miWhen to get out
September is the best month for walking in Wesley 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) | 9.5 | 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 | 49 | 62 | 73 | 82 | 84 | 83 | 77 | 65 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 2.7 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Wesley Township →
Next door
Wesley Township and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wesley Township | 11% | 0.2 | 531 | 54% | B+ |
| Custer Township | 13% | 0.3 | 479 | 45% | A− |
| Rockville Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Wilmington | 32% | 0.1 | 235 | 88% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Wesley Township
Where can I hike in Wesley Township?
The longest trail networks: Kankakee River State Park, 3.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Wesley Township is conserved land?
11% 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 Wesley Township’s trails?
Kankakee River State Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Wesley Township?
3.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.7 of off-road paths. Named routes: Kankakee River Trail.
Is there public land near Wesley Township?
31,617 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Wesley Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 967 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Wesley Township have?
Ahead of 73% 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 Wesley 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 →