1
Nelson Park
Park
156 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
Outdoors · Decatur
Decatur, IL parks, trails & bike paths
About 7.3% of Decatur is conserved land, roughly 2,257 acres. There are about 17 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in Nelson Park (1.2 mi), Hess Park (0.8 mi), and Scovill Park (0.5 mi).
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in Decatur, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
Decatur outdoors
Conserved land
7.3%
2,257 of 31,086 acres
Trails
17 mi
0.3 mi per sq mi · 12 on conserved land
Parks & preserves
52
32 conserved acres per 1,000 residents
Bike routes
21.2 mi
0.0 mi lanes · 21.2 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
Hess Park
Park
24 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
3
Scovill Park
Park
51 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
4
Park Luise
Managed by Decatur Park District
24 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
5
Fairview Park
Park
181 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
6
Central Park
Park
2 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
All 52 parks & preserves
Showing 1–10 of 52 parks & preserves
Nelson Park156 acres · 1.2 mi of trail
Hess Park24 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
Scovill Park51 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Park Luise24 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Decatur Park District
Fairview Park181 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Central Park2 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
East Mound Park44 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Sportsmans Park38 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Leafland Residential Park5 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
decatur greenspace2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Things to do
Beaches, playgrounds, falls & more
Pick a kind of place for the list, directions, or pins on the map above.
Scenic views in Decatur
Bald EagleIn Scovill Park
CheetahsIn Scovill Park
Flamingo & PelicanIn Scovill Park
PenguinsIn Scovill Park
ReptilesIn Scovill Park
WolvesIn Scovill Park
Unnamed scenic view in Lincoln Park
Unnamed scenic view in Scovill Park
Unnamed scenic view in Sportsmans Park
Trails
Named trails
Unpaved 1.0 mi
- Faries Park0.1 mi
Water
Lakes & rivers
Tap a name for directions.
Who protects the land
2,257 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn't always mean open to visitors. 1 acres are conservation easements, which are usually private land. The places listed above are parks and preserves people visit.
Biking & sports
Bike routes, courts & fields
- Painted or protected bike lanes0.0 mi
- Off-road bike paths21.2 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes0.0 mi
Courts & fields
- Baseball33
- Tennis24
- Pickleball14
- Basketball12
- Soccer7
- Football5
- Beach volleyball4
Counts include school and college facilities, which aren't always open to the public.
Public lands
The biggest protected places in Decatur
From USGS PAD-US: who manages each one and whether visitors are welcome.
Local Park 1,148 acUnknown 905 acLocal Recreation Area 117 acConservation Easement 73 acLocal Conservation Area 44 ac
Showing 1–10 of 15 places
| Place | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Tail Run Golf CourseUnknown | Town or city | 262 | Open |
| Unnamed PropertyUnknown | Town or city | 259 | Open |
| Hickory Point Golf CourseUnknown | Town or city | 189 | Open |
| Fairview ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 171 | Open |
| Scovill Golf CourseUnknown | Town or city | 158 | Open |
| Nelson Park And Golf CourseLocal Park | Town or city | 154 | Open |
| Big Creek Park & Riding StablesLocal Park | Town or city | 126 | Open |
| East Mound ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 111 | Open |
| Lincoln ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 83 | Open |
| Garman ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 58 | Open |
History
Historic places to visit
Showing 1–10 of 21 places
A.E. Staley Pump HouseBuilding
Abraham Lincoln MonumentMonument
Decatur 9/11 MemorialIn Nelson Park · Memorial
Decatur Downtown Historic DistrictDistrict
Decatur Historic DistrictDistrict
England Chambers MansionBuilding
G.A.R. MemorialMemorial
Mueller MonumentMonument
Old Mueller Hall MonumentMonument
Transfer HouseIn Central Park · Building
Nearby
Decatur and its neighbors
Towns whose outdoors data has been built so far.
| Town | Conserved | Trails | Parks & preserves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decatur | 7.3% | 16.6 mi | 52 |
| Forsyth | 3.4% | 1.4 mi | 2 |
| Mount Zion | 2.4% | 1.6 mi | 6 |
| Oakley | 2% | 0.6 mi | 3 |
| Whitmore | 3.1% | 0.0 mi | 1 |
| Decatur | 12.5% | 18.0 mi | 35 |
| South Wheatland | 5.4% | 12.0 mi | 3 |
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about Decatur'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 34.6-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.