1
Beaver Dam State Park
Managed by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
718 acres5.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Outdoors · Polk
Polk, IL parks, trails & bike paths
About 9% of Polk is conserved land, roughly 2,074 acres. There are about 6.2 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in Beaver Dam State Park (5.5 mi).
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in Polk, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
Polk outdoors
Conserved land
9%
2,074 of 23,035 acres
Trails
6.2 mi
0.2 mi per sq mi · 6 on conserved land
Parks & preserves
1
named on the map
Bike routes
0.0 mi
0.0 mi lanes · 0.0 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.
Things to do
Beaches, playgrounds, falls & more
Pick a kind of place for the list, directions, or pins on the map above.
Campgrounds in Polk
21In Beaver Dam State Park
Beaver DamIn Beaver Dam State Park
Beaver denIn Beaver Dam State Park
Quail NestIn Beaver Dam State Park
Tent CampingIn Beaver Dam State Park
Water
Lakes & rivers
Tap a name for directions.
Who protects the land
2,074 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn't always mean open to visitors. 1,221 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 paths0.0 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes0.0 mi
Courts & fields
- Basketball1
Counts include school and college facilities, which aren't always open to the public.
Public lands
The biggest protected places in Polk
From USGS PAD-US: who manages each one and whether visitors are welcome.
Conservation Easement 1,244 acState Park 697 acPrivate Historic or Cultural 105 acState Recreation Area 42 acState Conservation Area 10 ac
| Place | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beaver Dam State ParkState Park | State natural resources | 697 | Open |
| Bullard Lake Club Natural Heritage LandmarkPrivate Historic or Cultural | Private owners | 105 | Closed |
| Bullard Lake ClubState Recreation Area | Private owners | 42 | Closed |
| Roderick Prairie Nature PreserveState Conservation Area | Private owners | 6 | Closed |
| Denby Prairie State Natural AreaState Conservation Area | State natural resources | 4 | Open |
History
Historic places to visit
Brayford CemeteryCemetery
Nearby
Polk and its neighbors
Towns whose outdoors data has been built so far.
| Town | Conserved | Trails | Parks & preserves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polk | 9% | 6.2 mi | 1 |
| Brushy Mound | 1.7% | 2.8 mi | 0 |
| Bird | 0.3% | 1.2 mi | 0 |
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about Polk'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.