Carterville has 55 acres of parks, 9.4 for every 1,000 residents
0.5 miles of mapped trail cross Carterville, 0.1 per square mile of land. 46% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1% of Carterville’s land is conserved, about 43 acres.
Ahead of 27% of U.S. towns · #672 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
How much outdoors does Carterville have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Carterville is ahead of 27% of U.S. towns, #672 of 768 in Illinois. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; park acres per resident come closest.
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge
43 conserved acres
1% of Carterville’s land. Who manages Carterville’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cannon Park Local Park | Town or city | 26 | Open |
| Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 20 | Restricted |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
5 places to go in Carterville
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Plus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
2 lakes & rivers
2.7 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.
The walking year in Carterville
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) | 41 | 46 | 56 | 68 | 77 | 85 | 88 | 87 | 81 | 70 | 56 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 3.1 | 4.4 | 5.4 | 5.1 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 5.4 inches fall in April, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Carterville →
Carterville and its neighbors
Carterville has the second most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Carterville
How much of Carterville is conserved land?
1% 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 Carterville’s trails?
Cannon Park and Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Carterville?
2.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.4 of painted or protected lanes, 1.1 of off-road paths and 0.2 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Carterville?
13,242 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Carterville or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 55 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Carterville have?
Ahead of 27% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #672 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 Carterville 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 →