Greenspace East Park
Park
81 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Paul Sableman · CC BY 2.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Glen Carbon
Glen Carbon has 357 acres of parks, 26 for every 1,000 residents
83% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.7 miles of mapped trail cross Glen Carbon, 0.1 per square mile of land. 4% of Glen Carbon’s land is conserved, about 280 acres.
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns · #450 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
280 acres · of 10.3 sq mi of land
Trails
0.7 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
357 ac
26 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
83%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
12 mi
12 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Glen Carbon?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Glen Carbon have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Glen Carbon is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns, #450 of 768 in Illinois. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Glen Carbon’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4CPark land26 acres of park per 1,000 residents (357 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home83% 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 56%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 41%
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Ray M Schon Memorial Park
Park
70 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Glen Carbon Village Hall Park
Park
3 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
280 conserved acres
4% of Glen Carbon’s land. Who manages Glen Carbon’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources173 ac
County170 ac
Town or city18 ac
Local Park · 185 acConservation Easement · 96 acState Other or Unknown · 77 acLocal Recreation Area · 2 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 19 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 12 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green Space East State Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 77 | Unknown |
| Mct Nickel Plate Trail Local Park | County | 77 | Open |
| Heritage Trail Local Park | County | 74 | Open |
| Mct Nature Trail Local Park | County | 19 | Open |
| Miner Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Citizens Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Village Of Glen Carbon Ball Field Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Village Hall Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Mct Goshen Trail Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Village Of Glen Carbon Open Space Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
13 places to go in Glen Carbon
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Glen Carbon
11 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Glen Carbon
Miner Bark ParkIn Miner Park
DirectionsPicnic areas in Glen Carbon
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Private0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
12 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
12 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
8Basketball
7Baseball
4Tennis
2Soccer
1Softball
1Tracks
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 5 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The walking year in Glen Carbon
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 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 44 | 55 | 67 | 76 | 85 | 88 | 87 | 80 | 69 | 55 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 2.3 | 3.4 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 2.7 |
February is the driest month (2.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 5.0 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Glen Carbon →
Next door
Glen Carbon and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Edwardsville Township22 miEdwardsville21 miCollinsville Township6.4 miPontoon Beach5.5 miMaryville1.3 miGlen Carbon0.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glen Carbon | 4% | 0.1 | 26 | 83% | B |
| Edwardsville | 4% | 1.0 | 16 | 95% | A− |
| Maryville | 4% | 0.2 | 19 | 60% | B− |
| Pontoon Beach | 30% | 0.6 | 306 | 78% | A |
| Edwardsville Township | 5% | 0.6 | 20 | 90% | A− |
| Collinsville Township | 3% | 0.2 | 20 | 71% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Glen Carbon
Where can I hike in Glen Carbon?
The longest trail networks: Ray M Schon Memorial Park, 0.1 miles; Miner Park, 0.2 miles; Glen Carbon Village Hall Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Glen Carbon 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 Glen Carbon’s trails?
Greenspace East Park and Ray M Schon Memorial Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Glen Carbon?
12 miles of bike routes are on the map: 12 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Glen Carbon?
15,981 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Glen Carbon or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 357 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Glen Carbon have?
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #450 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 Glen Carbon 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 →