Foundation Park
Park
167 acres4.7 mi of trail
Wilderness Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Jon Platek · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Centralia
Centralia has 13 miles of mapped trails, 1.6 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Foundation Park (4.7 mi), Foundation Park Wetlands (4.1 mi), Fairview Park (1.5 mi). 370 acres are parks and preserves, 31 per 1,000 residents. 87% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns · #143 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
197 acres · of 8.2 sq mi of land
Trails
13 mi
1.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
370 ac
31 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
87%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
4
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Centralia?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Centralia have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Centralia is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #143 of 768 in Illinois. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, conserved land lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Centralia’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails1.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (13 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land31 acres of park per 1,000 residents (370 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home87% of residents within a half mile of a park · IL 88% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 84%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 81%
Water is 11% of Centralia’s area (1 of 9 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 3%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. 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 Foundation Park, with 4.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Foundation Park Wetlands
Park
92 acres4.1 mi of trail
Wilderness TrailThe 8 Track
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Foundation Park Prairie Restoration
Park
15 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Point Park
Park
8 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 11 parks & preserves
Foundation Park167 acres · 4.7 mi of trail
DirectionsFoundation Park Wetlands92 acres · 4.1 mi of trail
DirectionsFairview Park44 acres · 1.5 mi of trail
DirectionsFoundation Park Prairie Restoration15 acres · 1 mi of trail
DirectionsLibrary Park5 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsPoint Park8 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Bell Tower Park4 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsLaura Leake Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Foundation Park Sprehe Fields11 acres
DirectionsWamac City Park2 acres
Raccoon Lake Park1 acres
Who protects it
197 conserved acres
4% of Centralia’s land. Water is left out: Centralia has 8.2 square miles of land and 1.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Centralia’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city197 ac
Local Park · 197 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation Park Local Park | Town or city | 143 | Open |
| Fairview Park Local Park | Town or city | 40 | Open |
| Library Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Lions Athletic Field Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Laura Leake Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Finger Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Bell Tower Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Wamac City Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
12 places to go in Centralia
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Centralia
Schiller Playground
DirectionsPlus 9 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Centralia
Centralia Bark Park
DirectionsBoat launches in Centralia
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.5 mi
Wilderness Trail1.2 mi
The 8 Track0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
12Tennis
5Baseball
2Basketball
1Skate park
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 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.
When to get out
The walking year in Centralia
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 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 44 | 54 | 66 | 76 | 84 | 87 | 86 | 80 | 69 | 54 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.5 | 3.7 | 4.8 | 5.1 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 2.9 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 5.1 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Centralia →
Next door
Centralia and its neighbors
Centralia has the most mapped trails of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centralia | 4% | 1.6 | 31 | 87% | A− |
| Wamac | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Central City | 4% | 0.7 | 12 | 83% | B+ |
| Centralia Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Brookside Township | 1% | 0.3 | 10 | 34% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Centralia
Where can I hike in Centralia?
The longest trail networks: Foundation Park, 4.7 miles; Foundation Park Wetlands, 4.1 miles; Fairview Park, 1.5 miles; Foundation Park Prairie Restoration, 1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Centralia 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 Centralia’s trails?
Foundation Park and Foundation Park Wetlands don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Centralia?
651 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Centralia or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 370 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Centralia have?
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #143 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 Centralia 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 →