E. Dale Fisk Hawk Woods Nature Center
Nature preserve
87 acres3.1 mi of trail
Pond TrailWoodland TrailBluebird Loop TrailMarsh Boardwalk Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: ajay_suresh · CC BY 2.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Auburn Hills
Auburn Hills has 25 miles of mapped trails, 1.5 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: E. Dale Fisk Hawk Woods Nature Center (3.1 mi), River Woods Park (1 mi), CTC Park (0.8 mi). 7% of Auburn Hills’ land is conserved, about 744 acres. 71% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns · #252 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
744 acres · of 16.6 sq mi of land
Trails
25 mi
1.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
246 ac
9.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
71%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
49 mi
49 mi paths
Highest peak
1,273 ft
Oakland Heights Landfill
Lakes & rivers
6
What kind of outdoors town is Auburn Hills?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Auburn Hills have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Auburn Hills is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns, #252 of 701 in Michigan. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Auburn Hills’ overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (25 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land9.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (246 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home71% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 73%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 64%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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 E. Dale Fisk Hawk Woods Nature Center, with 3.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Auburn Hills Civic Center Park
Park
60 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 12 parks & preserves
E. Dale Fisk Hawk Woods Nature Center87 acres · 3.1 mi of trail
DirectionsRiver Woods Park29 acres · 1 mi of trail
DirectionsCTC Park14 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsAuburn Hills Civic Center Park60 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsRiverside Park4 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsClinton River Trail23 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsKayak Point Park11 acres
DirectionsAmberwood Conservation Area5 acres
Auburn Hills Skate Park5 acres
DirectionsManitoba Park2 acres
DirectionsDennis Dearing Jr. Memorial Park1 acres
Forester Square Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
744 conserved acres
7% of Auburn Hills’ land. Who manages Auburn Hills’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners286 ac
Other state land241 ac
Town or city165 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government54 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits4 ac
Private Park · 340 acConservation Easement · 241 acLocal Park · 87 acLocal Conservation Area · 78 acUnknown Easement · 4 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 238 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fieldstone Golf Club Private Park | Private owners | 161 | Restricted |
| Mulligan's Golf Learning Center Private Park | Private owners | 113 | Restricted |
| Hawk Woods Nature Center Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 78 | Open |
| R & S Sharf Golf Course Private Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 54 | Restricted |
| Civic Center Park Local Park | Town or city | 48 | Open |
| River Woods Park Local Park | Town or city | 30 | Open |
| Auburn Hills Golf Center Private Park | Private owners | 12 | Restricted |
| Riverside Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Auburn Hills Skate Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Manitoba Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
27 places to go in Auburn Hills
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Auburn Hills
climbing wallIn River Woods Park
DirectionsPlus 18 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Auburn Hills
6 scenic views without a name on the map.
Peaks in Auburn Hills
Oakland Heights Landfill1,273 ft elevation
DirectionsBald Mountain1,152 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
8 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 5.9 miUnpaved · 1.3 mi
Rick Abbott Nature Path1.2 mi
Alice R. Champion Trail0.9 mi
Pond Trail0.5 mi
Woodland Trail0.5 mi
Bluebird Loop Trail0.4 mi
Marsh Boardwalk Trail0.3 mi
Southwest Pedestrian Entrance0.2 mi
Black Walnut Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
49 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
49 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
24Tennis
8Baseball
6Basketball
4Soccer
3Beach volleyball
1Football
1Lacrosse
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Auburn Hills: August and 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 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 44 | 57 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 47 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 3.0 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.9 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Auburn Hills →
Next door
Auburn Hills and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Orion Township64 miRochester Hills59 miWaterford Township42 miPontiac28 miAuburn Hills25 miBloomfield Township21 miIndependence Township19 miLake Angelus1.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auburn Hills | 7% | 1.5 | 10 | 71% | B+ |
| Pontiac | 6% | 1.4 | 13 | 92% | A− |
| Orion Township | 10% | 1.9 | 39 | 61% | A |
| Lake Angelus | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Rochester Hills | 9% | 1.8 | 13 | 73% | A− |
| Waterford Township | 8% | 1.4 | 21 | 85% | A |
| Independence Township | 14% | 0.5 | 54 | 52% | A− |
| Bloomfield Township | 6% | 0.9 | 1 | 40% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Auburn Hills
Where can I hike in Auburn Hills?
The longest trail networks: E. Dale Fisk Hawk Woods Nature Center, 3.1 miles; River Woods Park, 1 miles; CTC Park, 0.8 miles; Auburn Hills Civic Center Park, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Auburn Hills is conserved land?
7% 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 Auburn Hills’ trails?
E. Dale Fisk Hawk Woods Nature Center and River Woods Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Auburn Hills?
49 miles of bike routes are on the map: 49 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Auburn Hills?
24,812 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Auburn Hills or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 246 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Auburn Hills have?
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #252 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 Auburn Hills 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 →