1
Deer Run Forest Preserve
Managed by Forest Preserves of Winnebago County
519 acres5.5 mi of trail
Green PathOrange PathBlue PathRed PathYellow Path
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
Outdoors · Cherry Valley
Cherry Valley, IL parks, trails & bike paths
About 37% of Cherry Valley is conserved land, roughly 2,059 acres. There are about 17 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in Deer Run Forest Preserve (5.5 mi), Oak Ridge Forest Preserve (3.4 mi), and Blackhawk Springs Forest Preserve (2.3 mi).
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in Cherry Valley, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
Cherry Valley outdoors
Conserved land
37%
2,059 of 5,500 acres
Trails
17 mi
2 mi per sq mi · 14 on conserved land
Parks & preserves
11
549 conserved acres per 1,000 residents
Bike routes
8.0 mi
0.1 mi lanes · 7.9 mi off-road paths
Conserved land is a share of the whole town area. Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number or a place below to zoom in© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Parks & preserves with trails
Ranked by mapped trail miles. Directions go to the nearest marked trailhead or public parking.
2
Oak Ridge Forest Preserve
Managed by Forest Preserves of Winnebago County
297 acres3.4 mi of trail
Orange TrailGreen TrailBlue Trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
3
Blackhawk Springs Forest Preserve
Managed by Forest Preserves of Winnebago County
400 acres2.3 mi of trail
Green TrailOrange TrailRed Trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
4
Kishwaukee River Forest Preserve
Managed by Winnebago Forest Preserve District
222 acres1.8 mi of trail
Maintenance Trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
5
Rockford Rotary County Forest Preserve
Managed by Winnebago Forest Preserve District
148 acres1.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
6
McKiski Forest Preserve
Managed by Forest Preserves of Winnebago County
40 acres0.9 mi of trail
McKiski FPPath 15 Yellow Connector Path to McKiski FP
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
7
Espenscheid Forest Preserve
Managed by Forest Preserves of Winnebago County
34 acres0.5 mi of trail
Yellow TrailGreen Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 11 parks & preserves
Showing 1–10 of 11 parks & preserves
Deer Run Forest Preserve519 acres · 5.5 mi of trail · Forest Preserves of Winnebago County
Oak Ridge Forest Preserve297 acres · 3.4 mi of trail · Forest Preserves of Winnebago County
Blackhawk Springs Forest Preserve400 acres · 2.3 mi of trail · Forest Preserves of Winnebago County
Kishwaukee River Forest Preserve222 acres · 1.8 mi of trail · Winnebago Forest Preserve District
Rockford Rotary County Forest Preserve148 acres · 1.3 mi of trail · Winnebago Forest Preserve District
McKiski Forest Preserve40 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · Forest Preserves of Winnebago County
Espenscheid Forest Preserve34 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Forest Preserves of Winnebago County
Former Elliot Golf Course192 acres · Severson Dells Nature Center
Ipson Road Conservation Area92 acres · Boone County Conservation District
Southeast Community Park54 acres
Things to do
Beaches, playgrounds, falls & more
Pick a kind of place for the list, directions, or pins on the map above.
Public pools in Cherry Valley
Little Lagoon
Tsunami Bay
Trails
Named trails
Horses 4.1 miUnpaved 16.1 mi
Showing 1–10 of 13 trails
- Orange Trail2.6 mi
- Green Trail2.4 mi
- Green Path1.7 mi
- Orange Path1.2 mi
- Blue Path1.1 mi
- Red Path0.8 mi
- McKiski FP0.8 mi
- Red Trail0.5 mi
- Yellow Trail0.3 mi
- Yellow Path0.3 mi
Who protects the land
2,059 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Biking & sports
Bike routes, courts & fields
- Painted or protected bike lanes0.1 mi
- Off-road bike paths7.9 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes0.0 mi
Courts & fields
- Pickleball4
- Baseball3
- Softball2
- Beach volleyball1
- Tennis1
- Skate park1
Counts include school and college facilities, which aren't always open to the public.
Public lands
The biggest protected places in Cherry Valley
From USGS PAD-US: who manages each one and whether visitors are welcome.
Local Conservation Area 1,887 acLocal Recreation Area 212 acLocal Park 180 acConservation Easement 65 acUnknown 46 ac
Showing 1–10 of 13 places
| Place | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Espenscheid Forest PreserveLocal Conservation Area | County | 739 | Open |
| Blackhawk Springs Forest PreserveLocal Conservation Area | County | 403 | Open |
| Kishwaukee GreenwayLocal Conservation Area | Regional agency | 268 | Open |
| Earl F. Elliot Park and Golf CourseLocal Recreation Area | Town or city | 212 | Open |
| Rockford Rotary Forest PreserveLocal Conservation Area | County | 180 | Open |
| Kishwaukee River Forest PreserveLocal Conservation Area | County | 162 | Open |
| Newberg Village Conservation AreaLocal Conservation Area | Regional agency | 102 | Open |
| Baumann ParkLocal Park | Regional agency | 96 | Open |
| Southeast Community ParkLocal Park | Regional agency | 78 | Open |
| Magic WatersUnknown | Town or city | 34 | Open |
Nearby
Cherry Valley and its neighbors
Towns whose outdoors data has been built so far.
| Town | Conserved | Trails | Parks & preserves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cherry Valley | 37.4% | 17.3 mi | 11 |
| Rockford | 6.4% | 29.9 mi | 66 |
| Belvidere | 18.6% | 22.8 mi | 16 |
| Cherry Valley | 14.4% | 37.6 mi | 13 |
| Rockford | 6.8% | 50.6 mi | 88 |
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about Cherry Valley's trails yet. Muddy, icy, a bridge out, where to park: a quick post helps the next person.
Sources: trails, parks, preserves, courts and bike lanes © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), map data as of 2026-09-28. Conserved land: USGS Gap Analysis Project, Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US). Measured against the Census town boundary.
How we measure
"Trails" are OpenStreetMap paths, bridleways, public tracks and unpaved footways, plus footways inside a park or preserve or on a named trail route. Sidewalks are left out. Areas are counted on a 20-meter grid, so overlapping parcels count once. "Conserved" includes conservation easements, which protect land from development but are usually private property. Trailheads are the nearest marked trailhead, public parking lot or information board within about 150 meters of a preserve. Dog rules come from OpenStreetMap when someone has tagged them; otherwise we show what's typical for the land manager, or say the rules aren't recorded.