Jenks Park
Park
4 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Central Falls
7% of Central Falls’ land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 7% of Central Falls’ land is conserved, about 55 acres. 37 acres are parks and preserves, 1.6 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns · #33 of 38 in Rhode Island. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
55 acres · of 1.2 sq mi of land
Trails
0.3 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
37 ac
1.6 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.4 mi
0.3 mi paths
Highest peak
112 ft
Dexters Ledge
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Central Falls?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Central Falls have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Central Falls is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns, #33 of 38 in Rhode Island. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Central Falls’ overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical RI town 19% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · RI 1.1 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land1.6 acres of park per 1,000 residents (37 acres) · RI 21 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · RI 72% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 61%
LessMore
Rhode Island towns of 2,500+ (38)Ahead of 14%
Rhode Island towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 19%; the U.S., 4%), so Central Falls’ 7% is ahead of 14% of Rhode Island towns, while its trails per square mile lead 8% of them.
Water is 6% of Central Falls’ area (0 of 1 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 7%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. 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
The longest trail network is Jenks Park, with 0.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Veteran's Memorial Park
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
55 conserved acres
7% of Central Falls’ land. Water is left out: Central Falls has 1.2 square miles of land and 0.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Central Falls’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation25 ac
Other state land22 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land13 ac
Town or city9 ac
State natural resources3 ac
Not recorded21 ac
Conservation Easement · 38 acState Park · 22 acState Resource Management Area · 21 acLocal Park · 9 acRecreation or Education Easement · 3 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 17 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 7 of 14 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sayles Finishing State Park | Other state land | 22 | Open |
| Blackstone River State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 21 | Unknown |
| Macomber Stadium Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Island Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Valley Marsh Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Nf Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Central Falls
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Central Falls
The children's workshop playground
DirectionsPeaks in Central Falls
Dexters Ledge112 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
off-road bike paths
2.0 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
2Soccer
2Basketball
2Tennis
2Baseball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →13 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Central Falls Congregational ChurchBuilding · listed 1976
About itHoly Trinity Church ComplexBuilding · listed 1978
About itValley Falls MillBuilding · listed 1978
About itValley Falls Mill, Office and Bath HouseBuilding · listed 1978
About itBenjamin F. Greene HouseBuilding · listed 1979
About itCentral Street SchoolBuilding · listed 1979
About itDavid G. Fales HouseBuilding · listed 1979
About itJenks Park & Cogswell TowerDistrict · listed 1979
About itSamuel B. Conant HouseBuilding · listed 1979
About itSt. Matthew's ChurchBuilding · listed 1979
About itSouth Central Falls Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1991
About itAmerican Supply Company BuildingBuilding · listed 2017
About it1 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Central Falls: 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 40 | 47 | 58 | 68 | 77 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 63 | 52 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 4.0 | 3.6 | 4.9 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.8 | 4.2 | 4.8 |
July is the driest month (3.4 in) and the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.9 inches fall in March, the wettest month. The climate in Central Falls →
Next door
Central Falls 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Falls | 7% | 0.3 | 2 | 99%+ | B |
| Valley Falls | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Cumberland | 23% | 3.4 | 54 | 89% | A+ |
| Pawtucket | 9% | 0.7 | 6 | 98% | A− |
| Lincoln | 16% | 3.0 | 66 | 91% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Central Falls
Where can I hike in Central Falls?
The longest trail networks: Jenks Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Central Falls is conserved land?
7% of its land, against a typical 19% for a Rhode Island town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Central Falls’ trails?
Jenks Park and River Island Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Central Falls?
2.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of off-road paths and 2.0 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Central Falls?
14,414 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Central Falls or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 37 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Central Falls have?
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #33 of 38 in Rhode Island. 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 Central Falls 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 →