Photo: Bradley Furlow · CC BY-SA 4.0Carbondale has 993 acres of parks, 45 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Carbondale Superblock (0.9 mi), Chautauqua Bottoms (0.6 mi), Green Earth Park (0.6 mi). 88% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 11 miles of mapped trail cross Carbondale, 0.6 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns · #200 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Carbondale?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Carbondale have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Carbondale is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #200 of 768 in Illinois. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, conserved land lowest.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Carbondale Superblock, with 0.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Chautauqua Bottoms
Green Earth Park
Brush Hill Nature Peserve
All 28 parks & preserves
486 conserved acres
4% of Carbondale’s land. Who manages Carbondale’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 19 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hickory Ridge Golf Course Unknown | Town or city | 252 | Open |
| Parrish Park Local Park | Town or city | 40 | Open |
| Pyles Fork Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 32 | Open |
| Attucks Park Local Park | Town or city | 28 | Open |
| Evergreen Park Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Oakland Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 21 | Open |
| Brush Hill Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 13 | Open |
| Oakland Field Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Unnamed Property Unknown | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Hickory Lodge Unknown | Town or city | 9 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
32 places to go in Carbondale
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Plus 21 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
4 campgrounds without a name on the map.
1 disc golf course without a name on the map.
5 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
43 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 6 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
The walking year in Carbondale
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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 42 | 47 | 57 | 68 | 77 | 85 | 88 | 87 | 81 | 70 | 56 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 3.0 | 4.3 | 5.3 | 5.2 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 5.3 inches fall in April, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Carbondale →
Carbondale and its neighbors
Carbondale has the second most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carbondale | 4% | 0.6 | 45 | 88% | A− |
| Carbondale Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Murphysboro Township | 4% | under 0.1 | 8 | 57% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Carbondale
Where can I hike in Carbondale?
The longest trail networks: Carbondale Superblock, 0.9 miles; Chautauqua Bottoms, 0.6 miles; Green Earth Park, 0.6 miles; Lenus Turley Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Carbondale is conserved land?
4% 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 Carbondale’s trails?
Carbondale Superblock and Chautauqua Bottoms don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Carbondale?
43 miles of bike routes are on the map: 20 of painted or protected lanes, 9.4 of off-road paths and 14 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Carbondale?
37,500 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Carbondale or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,012 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Carbondale have?
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #200 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 Carbondale neighbors.
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 →