Loveless Park South
Park
13 acres0.4 mi of trail
Loveless Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Calvin Beale · Public domainBOutdoors
Outdoors in Carlinville
Carlinville has 90 acres of parks, 16 for every 1,000 residents
94% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.5 miles of mapped trail cross Carlinville, 0.1 per square mile of land. 3% of Carlinville’s land is conserved, about 75 acres.
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns · #410 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
75 acres · of 3.4 sq mi of land
Trails
0.5 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
90 ac
16 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
94%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.2 mi
0.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Carlinville?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Carlinville have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Carlinville is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns, #410 of 768 in Illinois. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Carlinville’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land16 acres of park per 1,000 residents (90 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13BParks close to home94% of residents within a half mile of a park · IL 88% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 60%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 47%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Loveless Park South, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Loveless Park
Park
20 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Denby Park
Park
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
Loveless Park South13 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Loveless Park20 acres
Denby Park4 acres
Macoupin County Courthouse Grounds3 acres
DirectionsTower Grove Park3 acres
Tom Thumb Park1 acres
Gazda Park1 acres
Who protects it
75 conserved acres
3% of Carlinville’s land. Who manages Carlinville’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city64 ac
Regional agency6 ac
Private owners5 ac
Local Park · 70 acPrivate Park · 5 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loveless Park Local Park | Town or city | 36 | Open |
| American Legion Park Local Park | Town or city | 25 | Open |
| Carlinville Country Club Private Park | Private owners | 5 | Open |
| Denby Park Local Park | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
| Tower Grove Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Tom Thumb Park Local Park | Regional agency | 2 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Carlinville
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Carlinville
Carlinville Public Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Carlinville
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.5 mi
Loveless Trail0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
8Baseball
4Soccer
2Football
2Basketball
1Skate park
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Carlinville Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1976
About itWhen to get out
August is the best month for walking in Carlinville
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) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 42 | 53 | 65 | 75 | 84 | 87 | 86 | 80 | 67 | 53 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 2.3 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Carlinville →
Questions about parks and trails in Carlinville
Where can I hike in Carlinville?
The longest trail networks: Loveless Park South, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Carlinville is conserved land?
3% 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 Carlinville’s trails?
Loveless Park South and Loveless Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Carlinville?
0.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Carlinville?
1,086 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Carlinville or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 90 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Carlinville have?
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #410 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 Carlinville neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
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 →