Riverside Park
Park
42 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainCOutdoors
Outdoors in Murphysboro Township
Murphysboro Township has 73 acres of parks, 7.8 for every 1,000 residents
0.2 miles of mapped trail cross Murphysboro Township. 4% of Murphysboro Township’s land is conserved, about 840 acres. 57% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 30% of U.S. towns · #652 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
840 acres · of 36.3 sq mi of land
Trails
0.2 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
73 ac
7.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
57%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.7 mi
0.5 mi paths
Highest peak
479 ft
Mount Carbon
Lakes & rivers
6
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Murphysboro Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Murphysboro Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Murphysboro Township is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns, #652 of 768 in Illinois. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Murphysboro Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4DPark land7.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (73 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home57% 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 30%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 15%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. 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.
Lake Murphysboro State Park
Managed by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
8 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Parkview Park
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Riverside Park42 acres
Lake Murphysboro State Park8 acres · Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Longfellow Park4 acres
DirectionsParkview Park2 acres
Town Square1 acres
DirectionsTown Center Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
840 conserved acres
4% of Murphysboro Township’s land. Who manages Murphysboro Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service766 ac
Regional agency60 ac
State natural resources12 ac
Town or city1 ac
National Forest · 766 acLocal Park · 60 acState Park · 12 acUnknown · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shawnee National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 652 | Open |
| Shawnee Purchase Unit National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 114 | Open |
| Riverside Park Local Park | Regional agency | 53 | Open |
| Lake Murphysboro State Park State Park | State natural resources | 12 | Open |
| Longfellow Park Local Park | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
| Parkview Park Local Park | Regional agency | 2 | Open |
| Town Center Park Local Park | Regional agency | 2 | Open |
| General John A. Logan Museum Unknown | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in Murphysboro Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Murphysboro Township
6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Murphysboro Township
Murphysboro
DirectionsPeaks in Murphysboro Township
Mount Carbon479 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
6 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
6.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.5 mi
off-road bike paths
6.3 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
4Tennis
1Baseball
1Basketball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The walking year in Murphysboro Township
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) | 42 | 47 | 57 | 68 | 77 | 85 | 88 | 88 | 81 | 70 | 56 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.9 | 4.2 | 5.3 | 5.2 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 5.3 inches fall in April, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Murphysboro Township →
Next door
Murphysboro Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Pomona Township22 miCarbondale Township14 miSand Ridge Township11 miCarbondale11 miMurphysboro Township0.2 miSomerset Township0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Murphysboro Township | 4% | under 0.1 | 8 | 57% | C |
| Somerset Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 72 | 34% | C |
| Sand Ridge Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Carbondale Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Pomona Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Carbondale | 4% | 0.6 | 45 | 88% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Murphysboro Township
How much of Murphysboro Township 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 Murphysboro Township’s trails?
Riverside Park and Lake Murphysboro State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Murphysboro Township?
6.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.5 of off-road paths and 6.3 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Murphysboro Township?
51,833 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Murphysboro Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 843 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Murphysboro Township have?
Ahead of 30% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #652 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 Murphysboro Township 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 →