Centralia pa can you visit

Street map of Centralia PA. Over the years we have been asked many times several general questions about visiting Centralia. Some are looking for a few pointers as to what to look for when someone visits what is left of the town. Others are asking questions like, is it legal to go there, is it dangerous, where do I look to find the smoke coming out of the ground, where is the fire currently located, where did the underground mine fire originally start, how do I find the ever expanding crack in Rt.

We diligently try to answer all of the questions and help folks find the town as well as locate and understand points of interest once they arrive. Ultimately we thought it made sense to document your questions and point out interesting locations within the borough and pieces of information surrounding the stranger than fiction story of the town.

So this article will attempt to do just that. Keep in mind as you read this, that we are in no way encouraging you to go to Centralia. Centralia is not a tourist destination. Much of the area has it's dangers with toxic gases and subsidence, meaning the ground can and does cave in, possibly opening up dangerous underground caverns of burning coal that can kill you in an instant. Properties are owned by the Commonwealth of PA and you may indeed be trespassing if you go there.

All this doesn't mean curious people don't go there to get a first hand feel for the demise of a town that was once home to over a thousand people only a few short decades ago. Just the fact that you are reading this means you may be thinking about visiting or re-visiting Centralia PA and therefore we want to share what we know about the town as it stands today.

But always be aware of the dangers as you explore the area. Stay out of low areas where toxic gases can collect. Stay out of the subsided areas that have collapsed and are smoking.

Use your best judgment and be cautious. Is visiting Centralia legal? Several major routes and minor roads run right through Centralia PA. Rt 54, Rt 61 and Rt 42 all pass through the town and are open to traffic. Hundreds if not thousands pass this way daily. So entering Centralia is legal and it is not closed off to the public.

However most of the properties that had been acquired by the Commonwealth of PA are owned by the state. Several of the properties that still are home to residents, though owned by the State as well, are personal property. Whether you are trespassing depends on where you travel within the borough of Centralia. Most of the area is not posted with "No Trespassing" signs although a few have been seen in specific areas.

There are signs expressing Warnings and Dangers to alert the public of the dangers that can be hidden there. Yet people visit everyday to look at what is left of the town and see first hand the smoke and steam rising out of the ground. We have never been aware of anyone being given a hard time about visiting to look around so long as they are respectful of the residents who still live there and are respectful of the personal property and area in general.

Recently there has been an increase in vandalism, which may have changed the attitudes of local people and possibly law enforcement. As a result if you visit please don't feel the need to apply graffiti, smash bottles or litter. Respect the residents and their property.

There is a lot of interest in Centralia and many people visit not only to satisfy curiosity but to pay respect to the town as it was. There are three cemeteries in the borough of Centralia and family and friends visit occasionally. So please help to keep the area clean and accessible by the public. If anything, take a little of the garbage with you when you leave. What can I expect to see in Centralia?

A brief overview of Centralia PA Today. It wasn't too long ago Centralia was still home to hundreds of people. Within the past 30 years the numbers of residents has dwindled to next to nothing. Homes and businesses that once lined the streets were one by one razed over time leaving only a plot of grass in it's place. Today you'll find a grid-work of streets with no homes. Cut wires overhead that would have once led to a home or building.

Side streets, curbs and sidewalks are crumbling leaving behind scant evidence of the lives that once populated neighborhoods. Only a few structures remain at present. The occasional home here and there, The Centralia Municipal Building and a few random structures.

There are hot spots in the borough where smoke and steam rise out of the ground, evidence of the fire that still burns down below. A stretch of Rt. Yet today there are still a few resident who live there. With this in mind please be respectful of the residents if you visit.

Specific locations of interest described on this page. Where are the interesting places to go while I'm and Centralia? Centralia's postcode, , was revoked by the US Postal Service on September 18, ; any mail for Centralia is held for pickup in Ashland. Although locals and residents of neighboring towns get together for cleanup days and other local events, there are no newspapers. As a few people still live here, some homes are still occupied.

When the coal was originally mined, a few pillars of coal were left intact to prevent the ground above from collapsing into the mine. The fire has destroyed these pillars, leaving badly-damaged ground with huge cracks which release smoke, heat and toxic fumes.

This makes much of Centralia very unsafe. There were reports of police turning visitors away in early ; as of June the police were gone and the curiosity seekers were still present. Proceed at your own risk.

Nearby Ashland offers food, gas, lodging, and a coal mine tour at Pioneer Tunnel. The mine tour includes an underground mine tour, and an above-ground narrow gauge railroad ride to an old bootleg mine at a site where Centralia is visible at a distance. The same vein of anthracite that is burning underneath Centralia extends through Ashland and can be seen as part of the underground portion of the Pioneer Tunnel tour, although the fire at Centralia is not expected to threaten Ashland for several decades.

Mount Carmel also offers food, and is larger than Ashland. Looking for an environmental disaster of comparable severity? Picher Oklahoma , 1, mi 1, km and one time zone to the west, is an abandoned town undermined by decades of lead extraction. The surface water is contaminated by mine tailings; a deadly tornado drove the last nail in Picher's coffin in Is it near where Routes 61 and 42 meet?

Thanks for the heads up! I asked one of the DNR officers who were near the area what had happened, and they also have men walking around with meters and such. They believe the fire has started back up near that intersection, causing the sinkhole. They say it is too dangerous to be there and have asked several tourists to avoid the center of town, and if they MUST explore, to not interfere with their operations by staying to the side roads and away from the intersection. They have routed traffic around with detour signs, which if you enter town from centre st driving in from Mt Carmel, they make you turn down Troutwine, to Park St, then back to Locust.

You can also drive down that path as instructed by the signs, which you can connect back with the opened part of Centre St, by turning left where park hits Locust, then driving down a side street. Which until recently was hardly passable due to overgrowth, but they seem to have fixed that for the detour. Great report and thanks for taking the time to send along!

I really appreciate it and will share with our readers. Thanks again! Are we able to see the municipal building up close? And are the cemetery open on a regular basis or are they chained shut? I would love to check them out with my family within the next few weeks. We plan to check out the abandoned highway, the cemeteries and possibly the church as well. You can certainly go up the building and the cemeteries. The building will likely be closed, though, as will the cemeteries that have gates.

The fact that large sections are still collapsing suggests that poking around Centralia, while intriguing, may be hazardous to your health. I really feel for the remaining residents of Centralia if the morbidly curious are harassing them in a similar fashion. Im sorry but my name is anastasia.

I have a great interest in centralia and it crushes me that this place is just falling apart. I wish there was something…. Im only 14 but i wish to visit centralia when im I just hope it has not fallen apart by then. For some reason i have an instant connection to this town and this is just devastating.

Anastasia I was wondering if we could contact you for an interview. We are doing. A project on the town documentary and we would love your input. If we could set something up over the phone or Skype if you are interested email me at alexmarbach5 gmail. I had an instant connection to Centralia as well, ever since I heard the story of this little town I was just attached. If only there were people allowed to live there, that could continue to keep Centralia alive if nothing but showing somebody still cares about the town and not the fire or Silent Hill.

I was thinking and hoping to visit for my bday present next week. Im a huge fan of the silent hill video games and would love to visit the background story behind it. Is it still vistable? I dont want to over step my boundaries for the residents.

But you can definitely still walk around, I went there the other day. Here is a photo of the Speed Shop in Centralia, along with other businesses in I think it was a big mistake to try pouring wet sand in attempt to smother fire.

Once the water boils out the spaces between sand would , I think , allow air to more easily siphon in. I think wet clay would have been better.

Like most of you I immediately felt connected with this city, as well as some others that have had the same accident occur to them.

I always wanted to buy one and redo the structures, clean them up etc. Possibly charge a small fee for upkeep and even rent the old stores, homes etc out to people who feel same way. Maybe build a historical museum in them for people to learn and appreciate the place. These places are rich in history, and need to be preserved. Devil Ducky. I have a list of those buried in the Odd Fellows cemetery, centralia.

I would gladly look up anyone you want. My gr-great grandparents lived in Centralia in I was wondering if either of them are buried in Centralia. Is there anywhere to shoot a couple clays with a 12 gauge like you can do in st Claire. Where is it safe to park a vehicle if you wanna buzz around on a quad? Appreciate any thoughts and or facts if you have… thanks , kinda one of those extreme outdoors guy.. Be aware of your surroundings, as the ground is prone to subsidence—and it can a long, long way down over there on top of Locust Mountain.

As far as shooting, nah, take that elsewhere. Coal crackers come from a long line of rough trade. I heard you can ride from st. I just got back from Centralia.

I do feel a little sick after being there, possibly due to carbon monoxide exposure. Either that or the 6 hours of driving there and back. Been wanting to come since I was about The stars finally aligned and I can come in July.

Any places of interest or info on what is off limits would be greatly appreciated. Status of graffiti highway and where the fire was thought to have started landfill area would be awesome to know about…like if they are off limits.

Research suggests graffiti hwy is at this point. Went to Centralia at the beginning of July and it was truly an awesome experience for me. Graffiti highway really was something to behold.

I had been informed of citations and policing prior to going, but found none of that to be being enforced actively while there. Many dirt bikes and people on foot walking the highway. Never saw police of any kind while there, but they may only come at certain times. Certainly not one stationed there actively running people off. Graffiti hwy is probably the most popular area to go visit because everything else is so spread out and barren.

Houses here and there but not walking distance…cemeteries also. No trespassing signs and ADT signs. Anyone know what the deal is with the church? Based on bulletins posted online and the church website, it appears that as recently as April and May of , Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary church in north Centralia typically had only about one divine liturgy service each week.

It also seems that the pastor is in charge of another church as well and does not live in Centralia, so most of the week there is probably no organized activity on the grounds of the church. There are a series of KNOWN gangways under that section of town, and my research, limited as it may be, has shown that the fire was moving that direction. I know when my late husband and I were up there in , they had a sign on the top of South street which stated there was an active mine fire.

Well YEAH! Since moving to PA in I have periodically gone up there as time and homework allows. On South street alone you can get ground temps between 85 and degrees depending on where you shoot. Make no mistake, this fire is not out by any means and I strongly suggest caution if you go adventuring. I typically stick to the paved areas as these places on South street are of particular interest.

DO NOT harass those who are still living there and be respectful of the town and the fire.