Marl Pit Creek Boating Access Site
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
34 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
COutdoors
Outdoors in Ashland Township
Few parks or trails are on the map in Ashland Township
3% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 49 acres are parks and preserves, 18 per 1,000 residents. 3.8 miles of mapped trail cross Ashland Township, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 26% of U.S. towns · #601 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
396 acres · of 34.4 sq mi of land
Trails
3.8 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
49 ac
18 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
3%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
4
1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ashland Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ashland Township is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns, #601 of 701 in Michigan. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ashland Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4CPark land18 acres of park per 1,000 residents (49 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13BParks close to home3% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 26%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 14%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. 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.
Blanche Lake Park
Managed by City of Grant
14 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
396 conserved acres
2% of Ashland Township’s land. Who manages Ashland Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners230 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits99 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)50 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service10 ac
Town or city7 ac
Private Park · 230 acConservation Easement · 159 acLocal Park · 7 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 159 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brigadoon Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 230 | Restricted |
| Blanch Lake City Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Ashland Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Ashland Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Ashland Township
Marl Pit Creek Boat LaunchFee · In Marl Pit Creek Boating Access Site
DirectionsTrails & water
4 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Ashland Township: June 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) | 9.3 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 44 | 57 | 69 | 79 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 46 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 4.0 | 3.1 | 2.5 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.0 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Ashland Township →
Next door
Ashland Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Bridgeton Township20 miGrant Township10 miSheridan Township5.4 miGarfield Township3.9 miAshland Township3.8 miCasnovia Township0.6 miGrant0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashland Township | 2% | 0.1 | 18 | 3% | C |
| Grant | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Grant Township | 1% | 0.3 | under 1 | 6% | D |
| Garfield Township | 2% | 0.1 | 70 | 13% | C+ |
| Bridgeton Township | 26% | 0.6 | 2,611 | 30% | A− |
| Casnovia Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 18 | 7% | C− |
| Sheridan Township | 2% | 0.2 | 71 | 23% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Ashland Township
Where can I hike in Ashland Township?
The longest trail networks: Blanche Lake Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ashland Township is conserved land?
2% of its land, against a typical 5% for a Michigan town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Ashland Township’s trails?
Marl Pit Creek Boating Access Site and Blanche Lake Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Ashland Township?
44,625 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ashland Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 49 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ashland Township have?
Ahead of 26% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #601 of 701 in Michigan. 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 Ashland Township 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 →