Carbondale City Hall and Courthouse · Photo: Smallbones · CC0Carbondale has 8.2 miles of mapped trails, 2.5 for every square mile of land
94% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 49 acres are parks and preserves, 5.6 per 1,000 residents. 2% of Carbondale’s land is conserved, about 52 acres.
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns · #464 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Carbondale?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Carbondale have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Carbondale is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns, #464 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Carbondale’s 2% is ahead of 16% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 95% of them.
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 Russell Park, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Pinchot State Forest
52 conserved acres
2% of Carbondale’s land. Who manages Carbondale’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Russell Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 13 | Open |
| Lackawanna River Heritage Trail Private Recreation or Education | Not recorded | 12 | Open |
| Pinchot State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 10 | Open |
| Lackawanna Heritage Valley Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 9 | Open |
| East Side Field Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 6 | Open |
| West Side Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 5 | Open |
| Carbondale YMCA Community Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1 | Open |
7 places to go in Carbondale
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
6 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
1.4 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 best walking months in Carbondale: May to September
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) | 9.5 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 35 | 44 | 58 | 69 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 60 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 3.2 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.6 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Carbondale →
Carbondale and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carbondale | 2% | 2.5 | 6 | 94% | B+ |
| Carbondale Township | 18% | 1.4 | 262 | 22% | A− |
| Fell Township | 11% | 1.8 | 383 | 77% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Carbondale
Where can I hike in Carbondale?
The longest trail networks: Russell Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Carbondale is conserved land?
2% of its land, against a typical 8% for a Pennsylvania town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Carbondale’s trails?
Russell Park and Pinchot State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Carbondale?
1.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Carbondale?
17,011 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Carbondale or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 54 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Carbondale have?
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #464 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. 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 Carbondale 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 →