Southern View Community Park
Park
30 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: User:Visviva · CC BY-SA 4.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Woodside Township
Woodside Township has 63 acres of parks, 5.5 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Southern View Community Park (1.2 mi). 2.1 miles of mapped trail cross Woodside Township, 0.2 per square mile of land. 61% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 29% of U.S. towns · #661 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
67 acres · of 12.2 sq mi of land
Trails
2.1 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
63 ac
5.5 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
61%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
7.6 mi
0.5 mi lanes · 7.1 mi paths
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Woodside Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Woodside Township is ahead of 29% of U.S. towns, #661 of 768 in Illinois. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park comes closest.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Woodside Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land5.5 acres of park per 1,000 residents (63 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13CParks close to home61% 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 29%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 14%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 Southern View Community Park, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hobbs Park
Managed by Springfield Park District
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Jack McDonald Village Park
Park
4 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Washington Park
Managed by Springfield Park District
2 acres
Dogs on leash
Directionsto Rose Garden Parking AreaWebsite ↗
All 6 parks & preserves
Southern View Community Park30 acres · 1.2 mi of trail
DirectionsJack McDonald Village Park4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsHobbs Park10 acres · Springfield Park District
DirectionsWashington Park2 acres · Springfield Park District
DirectionsLindsay Place Park1 acres
Jerome Memorial Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
67 conserved acres
1% of Woodside Township’s land. Who manages Woodside Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city53 ac
State natural resources13 ac
Local Park · 35 acUnknown · 18 acState Recreation Area · 13 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern View Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 29 | Open |
| Interurban Trail Unknown | Town or city | 18 | Open |
| Chatham Trail State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 13 | Open |
| Hobbs Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Unkhown Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Southwind Prk Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
9 places to go in Woodside Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Woodside Township
9 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Biking & sports
7.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.5 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
7.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
7Baseball
5Tennis
4Basketball
3Soccer
2Volleyball
2Pickleball
1Field hockey
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Woodside 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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 35 | 41 | 52 | 65 | 75 | 83 | 86 | 85 | 79 | 67 | 52 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.8 | 4.2 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Woodside Township →
Next door
Woodside Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Springfield47 miCapital Township46 miWoodside Township2.1 miSouthern View1.3 miRochester Township1.1 miLeland Grove0.5 miChatham0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woodside Township | 1% | 0.2 | 5 | 61% | C |
| Capital Township | 6% | 0.8 | 19 | 73% | B+ |
| Springfield | 6% | 0.8 | 19 | 72% | B+ |
| Southern View | 8% | 1.9 | 20 | 85% | A |
| Leland Grove | under 1% | 0.8 | 2 | 72% | C |
| Chatham | 2% | under 0.1 | 10 | 71% | C |
| Rochester Township | 5% | under 0.1 | 15 | 46% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Woodside Township
Where can I hike in Woodside Township?
The longest trail networks: Southern View Community Park, 1.2 miles; Jack McDonald Village Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Woodside 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 Woodside Township’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Washington Park (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Woodside Township?
7.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.5 of painted or protected lanes and 7.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Woodside Township?
6,184 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Woodside Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 78 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Woodside Township have?
Ahead of 29% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #661 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 Woodside 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 →