Photo: Paul Sableman · CC BY 2.0Columbia has 9.0 miles of mapped trails, 0.9 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Meadow Ridge Park (0.5 mi). 76% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 177 acres are parks and preserves, 16 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns · #322 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Columbia?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Columbia have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Columbia is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns, #322 of 768 in Illinois. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles 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 Meadow Ridge Park, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 6 parks & preserves
216 conserved acres
3% of Columbia’s land. Who manages Columbia’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia Golf Club Private Park | Private owners | 64 | Open |
| Bolm-Schulkraft Park Local Park | Town or city | 54 | Open |
| Admiral Trost Subdivision Park Local Park | Town or city | 34 | Open |
| American Legion Park Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Meadow Ridge Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Oerter Soccer Park Private Park | Land trusts & nonprofits | 13 | Open |
| Columbia Soccer Fields Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Stonearch Bridge Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Turner Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Library Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
7 places to go in Columbia
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
2 lakes & rivers
4.1 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.
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.
The walking year in Columbia
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 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 41 | 46 | 57 | 68 | 77 | 86 | 89 | 88 | 81 | 70 | 56 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 2.5 | 2.2 | 3.5 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 2.8 |
February is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 5.0 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Columbia →
Columbia and its neighbors
Columbia has the most mapped trails of the 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia | 3% | 0.9 | 16 | 76% | B+ |
| Dupo | 1% | 0.2 | 12 | 68% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Columbia
Where can I hike in Columbia?
The longest trail networks: Meadow Ridge Park, 0.5 miles; Metter Park, 0.3 miles; Bolm Schukraft Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Columbia 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 Columbia’s trails?
Meadow Ridge Park and Metter Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Columbia?
4.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Columbia?
10,199 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Columbia or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 177 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Columbia have?
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #322 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 Columbia 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 →