Hike Centralia

Depending on which direction you are coming from, the easiest way to access the town and abandoned highway of Centralia is to come up through the town of Ashland. If you take this way, once in the town take center street and turn right onto PA-61 N if you are coming from the East. If you are coming from the West take a left onto PA-61 N instead. Once on this you will follow it for a few mere minutes, but very quickly you will pass one of the entrances to the end of the abandoned graffiti highway on your left. You can park and start there but I would suggest going on into Centralia and parking at the other entrance.

If you pass the first entrance to the highway, then the next one will be immediate on your left just as you hit the town limits. You will notice there are not many buildings left in Centralia and it is generally flat with some hills and nice scenery. There are usually other cars parked around the entrance and it may be a bit hidden by brush or dirt mounds, but if you look it is there. Also if there is no place to park there by the entrance, there is another flat area just past the entrance that will also work.

Once on the abandoned highway you are free to walk the full length of it, take pictures, and even do some of your own graffiti. There are some small woods trails on the sides of the highway too, but I do not recommend going on many of them, as Centralia is abandonded because of an old coal fire that is burning under the town, which has caused some sink holes to open up in certain areas. So if you do venture into the woods, do be careful. Though don't worry the pavement areas are all pretty much safe. Many people use them to walk dogs, go for strolls with their children, and ride bikes.

After the highway, feel free to explore out in the actual abandoned town. There are tons of great places for pictures, and you can hike or drive up to the town church which can be seen on foot, that was used for inspiration for the Silent Hill video game and movie franchise. Plus there are a few graveyards which can be visited and on some of the outskirts of the towns are some nice hills and vistas for some scenic photography.

After all that, there is not much more to do in Centralia, but I do recommend checking out Ashland and the town of Bloomsburg or Catawissa, as they are not too far away and have some good places to eat after exploring.