The Springfield Park District, established in 1900, is the public park authority serving the metropolitan area of Springfield in the U.S. state of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. The Springfield park district, which is separate from the municipal government of the city of Springfield, covers approximately 2,500 acres of open space. The park district has taxing power over about 60 square miles of

Sangamon County Sangamon County is located in the center of the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 197,465. Its county seat and largest city is Springfield, the state capital. Sangamon County is included in the S ...

; it operates 40 facilities that include four public golf courses. Facilities include the park district's flagship open space, Washington Park; an Illinois State Natural Area and Important Bird Area of Illinois, Carpenter Park; and the Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant Southwind Park. The park district operates 13 miles of bike trails in five units, designated as the Bunn to Lost Bridge Trail, Interurban Trail, Lost Bridge Trail,

Sangamon Valley Trail The Sangamon Valley Trail is an rail trail on the west side of Sangamon County in the U.S. state of Illinois. Skirting Springfield, Illinois, it extends from Centennial Park, on Springfield's southwest side (), to Irwin Bridge Road near Sangamon ...

, and Wabash Trail. The Springfield Park District also operates an independent police department.

References

{{coords, 39, 46, 8.5, N, 89, 38, 2.4, W, region:US-IL_scale:50000, display=title 1900 establishments in Illinois Park districts in Illinois Protected areas of Sangamon County, Illinois