Veterans Memorial Park
Park
51 acres1.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: WeaponizingArchitecture · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Bay City
96% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Bay City
10 miles of mapped trail cross Bay City, 1.0 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Veterans Memorial Park (1.3 mi), Ed Golson Outdoor Educational Park (1 mi), Bay County Fairground (0.6 mi). 308 acres are parks and preserves, 9.5 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns · #258 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
238 acres · of 10.2 sq mi of land
Trails
10 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
308 ac
9.5 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
96%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
9.9 mi
9.9 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
6 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Bay City?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bay City have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bay City is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns, #258 of 701 in Michigan. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bay City’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land9.5 acres of park per 1,000 residents (308 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home96% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 73%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 63%
Water is 9% of Bay City’s area (1 of 11 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 3%.
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 Veterans Memorial Park, with 1.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Ed Golson Outdoor Educational Park
Park
35 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Bay County Fairground
Park
46 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Michigan Sugar Trails
Park
24 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Maplewood Park
Managed by The City Of Bay City Parks Department
8 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 27 parks & preserves
Veterans Memorial Park51 acres · 1.3 mi of trail
DirectionsEd Golson Outdoor Educational Park35 acres · 1 mi of trail
DirectionsBay County Fairground46 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
Defoe Park24 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsWenonah Park6 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsMichigan Sugar Trails24 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Carroll Park14 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsMaplewood Park8 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · The City Of Bay City Parks Department
Bay City Fitness Park5 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsDiscovery Nature Preserve9 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Bay County
DirectionsKantzler Memorial Arboretum8 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsHewitt Park6 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsRiver Bend West Nature Area6 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Bay City
DirectionsRexer-Jablonski Park3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsBigelow Park10 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsBirney Park4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Ted Putz Nature Area4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Roosevelt Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Crow Island State Game Area15 acres · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Nate Doan Park5 acres
DirectionsRichard Shaw Park2 acres
DirectionsPershing Park2 acres
DirectionsIndependence Boat Launch Park1 acres · Bangor Township
DirectionsBicentennial Commons Park1 acres
DirectionsJoseph M. Tromble/Banks Park1 acres
DirectionsRamsey Park1 acres
Realtor Park1 acres
Who protects it
238 conserved acres
4% of Bay City’s land. Water is left out: Bay City has 10.2 square miles of land and 1.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Bay City’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city167 ac
County49 ac
Other state land30 ac
Local Park · 167 acLocal Recreation Area · 40 acConservation Easement · 30 acLocal Conservation Area · 9 acLocal Resource Management Area · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veterans Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 55 | Open |
| Bay Fairgrounds Local Recreation Area | County | 40 | Restricted |
| Defoe Park Local Park | Town or city | 23 | Open |
| Carroll Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Saginaw Bay Trailway Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Maplewood Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Bigelow Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Keit Wetland Preserve Local Conservation Area | County | 9 | Open |
| St. Josephs Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Hewitt Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
26 places to go in Bay City
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Bay City
1 public pool without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Bay City
16 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Bay City
1 dog park without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Bay City
Golson Boat LaunchIn Ed Golson Outdoor Educational Park
DirectionsPlus 5 boat launches without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Bay City
2 scenic views without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
9.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
9.9 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
25Baseball
16Tennis
6Beach volleyball
6Basketball
3Soccer
2Pickleball
1Football
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →14 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Tromble HouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itCity HallBuilding · listed 1975
About itSage LibraryBuilding · listed 1979
About itMercy Hospital and Elizabeth McDowell Bialy Memorial HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itBay County BuildingBuilding · listed 1982
About itPere Marquette Railroad Depot, Bay City StationBuilding · listed 1982
About itCenter Avenue Neighborhood Residential DistrictDistrict · listed 1982
About itMidland Street Commercial DistrictDistrict · listed 1982
About itClements, James, Airport Administration BuildingBuilding · listed 1982
About itBay City Downtown Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1985
About itElm Lawn CemeterySite · listed 2006
About itOdd Fellows Valley Lodge No. 189 BuildingBuilding · listed 2010
About it2 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Bay City: July 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) | 9.3 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 42 | 56 | 68 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 47 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 1.9 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 1.9 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.6 inches fall in August, the wettest month. The climate in Bay City →
Next door
Bay City and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Frankenlust Township15 miHampton Township14 miBay City10 miBangor Township5.5 miPortsmouth Township3.4 miMonitor Township1.4 miEssexville0.6 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bay City | 4% | 1.0 | 10 | 96% | B+ |
| Bangor Township | 11% | 0.4 | 60 | 46% | B+ |
| Portsmouth Township | 5% | 0.2 | 25 | 11% | C+ |
| Frankenlust Township | 12% | 0.7 | 228 | 28% | A− |
| Hampton Township | 14% | 0.5 | 107 | 53% | A− |
| Essexville | 6% | 0.5 | 1 | 63% | C+ |
| Monitor Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 5 | 30% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Bay City
Where can I hike in Bay City?
The longest trail networks: Veterans Memorial Park, 1.3 miles; Ed Golson Outdoor Educational Park, 1 miles; Bay County Fairground, 0.6 miles; Defoe Park, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bay City is conserved land?
4% 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 Bay City’s trails?
Veterans Memorial Park and Ed Golson Outdoor Educational Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Bay City?
9.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 9.9 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Bay City?
11,780 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bay City or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 308 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Bay City have?
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #258 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 Bay City 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 →