Burchfield Park
Managed by Ingham County Parks, Michigan
225 acres7.3 mi of trail
Meadow TrailRiver TrailGlorious PoperdsThe Bob Supremacy+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto McNamara LandingWebsite ↗
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Aurelius Township
Aurelius Township has 494 acres of parks, 113 for every 1,000 residents
13% of Aurelius Township’s land is conserved, about 3,109 acres. The biggest trail networks: Burchfield Park (7.3 mi). 7.4 miles of mapped trail cross Aurelius Township, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns · #365 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
3,109 acres · of 36.3 sq mi of land
Trails
7.4 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
494 ac
113 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
13%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Aurelius Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Aurelius Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Aurelius Township is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns, #365 of 701 in Michigan. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Aurelius Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land113 acres of park per 1,000 residents (494 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home13% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 61%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 48%
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 Burchfield Park, with 7.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Bunker Nature Preserve
Managed by Mid-Michigan Land Conservancy
129 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Glenn Dorscha Park
Managed by Aurelius Township
20 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Columbia Creek Park
Managed by Aurelius Township
17 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
3,109 conserved acres
13% of Aurelius Township’s land. Who manages Aurelius Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
USDA easements (NRCS)2,523 ac
Town or city328 ac
Private owners115 ac
Other state land113 ac
State Department of Land113 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service34 ac
Agricultural Easement · 2,434 acLocal Park · 318 acConservation Easement · 236 acPrivate Park · 115 acUnknown · 113 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2,553 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burchfield Park and Nature Area Local Park | Town or city | 210 | Open |
| Branson Bay Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 115 | Restricted |
| Webb 2 Unknown | State Department of Land | 113 | Open |
| Glenna Droscha Park Local Park | Town or city | 105 | Open |
| McNamara Canoe Landing Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Columbia Creek Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Aurelius Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Aurelius Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
13 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 6.4 miUnpaved · 5.5 mi
Meadow Trail1.3 mi
River Trail1.2 mi
Glorious Poperds0.9 mi
The Bob Supremacy0.7 mi
Gehl's Ghost0.5 mi
Dragonball Run0.3 mi
Serenity0.3 mi
Remember Me0.2 mi
Timinator0.2 mi
Peppermint Creek0.2 mi
3 more trails
Bullfrog
0.1 miHeckboy
0.1 miSmokey & the Bandits
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Mountain Bike (MTB) TrailBike route
3.6 miMTB Trail Bypass (easier)Bike route
0.5 miCourts & fields
2Baseball
2Soccer
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Aurelius Township: July 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 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 44 | 57 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 47 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 2.6 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.9 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Aurelius Township →
Next door
Aurelius Township and its neighbors
Aurelius Township has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Delhi Township18 miAurelius Township7.4 miVevay Township3.3 miOnondaga Township2.2 miEaton Rapids Township1.4 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurelius Township | 13% | 0.2 | 113 | 13% | B |
| Delhi Township | 6% | 0.6 | 27 | 66% | B+ |
| Eaton Rapids Township | 2% | under 0.1 | 3 | 9% | D |
| Onondaga Township | 5% | 0.1 | 136 | 14% | C+ |
| Vevay Township | 5% | 0.1 | 129 | 29% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Aurelius Township
Where can I hike in Aurelius Township?
The longest trail networks: Burchfield Park, 7.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Aurelius Township is conserved land?
13% 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 Aurelius Township’s trails?
Burchfield Park and Bunker Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Aurelius Township?
12,474 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Aurelius Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 494 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Aurelius Township have?
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #365 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 Aurelius 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 →