Riverside Park
Park
43 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainCOutdoors
Outdoors in Murphysboro
Murphysboro has 62 acres of parks, 9.3 for every 1,000 residents
84% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2% of Murphysboro’s land is conserved, about 62 acres.
Ahead of 32% of U.S. towns · #633 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
62 acres · of 5.2 sq mi of land
Trails
0.0 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
62 ac
9.3 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
84%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.3 mi
What kind of outdoors town is Murphysboro?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Murphysboro have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Murphysboro is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns, #633 of 768 in Illinois. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Murphysboro’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical IL town 4% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · IL 0.3 · U.S. 0.4DPark land9.3 acres of park per 1,000 residents (62 acres) · IL 15 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home84% 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 32%
LessMore
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 18%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− 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.
Parkview Park
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
62 conserved acres
2% of Murphysboro’s land. Who manages Murphysboro’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency58 ac
U.S. Forest Service3 ac
Town or city1 ac
Local Park · 58 acNational Forest · 3 acUnknown · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside Park Local Park | Regional agency | 52 | Open |
| Shawnee National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 3 | Open |
| Longfellow Park Local Park | Regional agency | 3 | Open |
| Parkview Park Local Park | Regional agency | 2 | Open |
| Town Center Park Local Park | Regional agency | 1 | Open |
| General John A. Logan Museum Unknown | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
9 places to go in Murphysboro
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Murphysboro
8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Murphysboro
Murphysboro
DirectionsBiking & sports
5.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.3 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
6Baseball
3Tennis
1Football
1Basketball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →10 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Robert W. Hamilton HouseBuilding · listed 1982
About itMobile and Ohio Railroad DepotBuilding · listed 1984
About itCornelius Hennessy BuildingBuilding · listed 2000
About itMurphysboro Elks LodgeBuilding · listed 2005
About itWilliam H. Hull HouseBuilding · listed 2006
About itRiverside Park BandshellStructure · listed 2012
About itLiberty TheaterBuilding · listed 2012
About itJackson County CourthouseBuilding · listed 2015
About itMurphysboro Downtown Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2022
About itMurphysboro Masonic Lodge No. 498 A.F & A.MBuilding · listed 2024
About itWhen to get out
The walking year in Murphysboro
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 | 89 | 88 | 81 | 70 | 56 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.9 | 4.2 | 5.3 | 5.2 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 3.3 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 5.3 inches fall in April, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Murphysboro →
Questions about parks and trails in Murphysboro
How much of Murphysboro is conserved land?
2% 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’s trails?
Riverside Park and Longfellow Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Murphysboro?
5.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.3 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Murphysboro?
39,861 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Murphysboro or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 67 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Murphysboro have?
Ahead of 32% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #633 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 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 →