Escanaba River State Forest - Escanaba Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
2,112 acres6.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Bark River Township
Bark River Township has 130 acres of parks, 84 for every 1,000 residents
36 miles of mapped trail cross Bark River Township, 0.8 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Escanaba River State Forest - Escanaba Unit (6.3 mi). 22% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
130 acres · of 45.6 sq mi of land
Trails
36 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
130 ac
84 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
22%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.0 mi
3.0 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
5
What kind of outdoors town is Bark River Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bark River Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bark River Township is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bark River Township’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (36 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land84 acres of park per 1,000 residents (130 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home22% 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 50%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. 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 Escanaba River State Forest - Escanaba Unit, with 6.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
130 conserved acres
under 1% of Bark River Township’s land. Who manages Bark River Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city123 ac
Other state land7 ac
Local Conservation Area · 123 acConservation Easement · 7 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank River Township Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 122 | Open |
| Township Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Trails & water
1 named trail and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 7.0 mi
Felch Grade ORV Route3.8 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
3.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.0 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
5Baseball
2Tennis
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
August is the best month for walking in Bark River Township
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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.4 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 26 | 29 | 39 | 52 | 65 | 75 | 80 | 78 | 70 | 56 | 42 | 31 |
| Rain (in) | 1.4 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 2.2 | 1.7 |
February is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 3.4 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Bark River Township →
Next door
Bark River Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Ford River Township91 miHarris Township71 miEscanaba Township52 miBark River Township36 miWells Township21 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bark River Township | under 1% | 0.8 | 84 | 22% | B− |
| Harris Township | 1% | 0.5 | 565 | 8% | B− |
| Ford River Township | 1% | 1.4 | 54 | 21% | B |
| Wells Township | 5% | 0.5 | 227 | 48% | B+ |
| Escanaba Township | under 1% | 0.9 | under 1 | 1% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Bark River Township
Where can I hike in Bark River Township?
The longest trail networks: Escanaba River State Forest - Escanaba Unit, 6.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bark River Township is conserved land?
under 1% 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 Bark River Township’s trails?
Escanaba River State Forest - Escanaba Unit and Bark River Sports Complex don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Bark River Township?
3.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.0 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Bark River Township?
3,070 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bark River Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 130 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Bark River Township have?
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Bark River 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 →