Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
208 acres2.2 mi of trail
Conjunction Junction
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Horton Bary School · Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Bay Township
Bay Township has 468 acres of parks, 390 for every 1,000 residents
14 miles of mapped trail cross Bay Township, 0.9 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit (2.2 mi), Maplecrest Preserve (0.8 mi), Church Family Preserve (0.6 mi). 31% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 74% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
463 acres · of 15.5 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
468 ac
390 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
31%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.5 mi
1.5 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Bay Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bay Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bay Township is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns. 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 Bay Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land390 acres of park per 1,000 residents (468 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home31% 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 74%
LessMore
Water is 18% of Bay Township’s area (3 of 19 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 4%.
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 Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit, with 2.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Maplecrest Preserve
Nature preserve
21 acres0.8 mi of trail
Maplecrest Loop Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Church Family Preserve
Nature preserve
26 acres0.6 mi of trail
Church LoopTake Me to Church Connector
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Nick Adams Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
43 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 9 parks & preserves
Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit208 acres · 2.2 mi of trail · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Maplecrest Preserve21 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
Church Family Preserve26 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
Nick Adams Nature Preserve43 acres
Taylor Horton Creek Nature Preserve36 acres
Bois LeDuc Preserve30 acres · Walloon Lake Trust & Conservancy
Rufus Teesdale Nature Preserve9 acres
TOMMBA Trails Preserve3 acres · Walloon Lake Trust & Conservancy
Marx Nature Preserve1 acres
Who protects it
463 conserved acres
5% of Bay Township’s land. Water is left out: Bay Township has 15.5 square miles of land and 3.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Bay Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city373 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits89 ac
Local Recreation Area · 373 acPrivate Conservation · 89 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 5 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camp Michigania Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 373 | Open |
| Nick Adams Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 42 | Open |
| Taylor Horton Creek Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 35 | Open |
| Rufus Teesdale Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 10 | Open |
| Marx Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1 | Unknown |
Things to do
7 places to go in Bay Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Bay Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Bay Township
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Bay Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Bay Township
Steak Ride
DirectionsCampgrounds in Bay Township
Camp Michigania
DirectionsTrails & water
9 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.6 miHorses · 0.7 miUnpaved · 4.7 mi
Conjunction Junction1.6 mi
Maplecrest Loop Trail0.8 mi
Two Lakes0.7 mi
Church Loop0.6 mi
Wilderness and Wonders0.5 mi
Lakeshore Hike0.5 mi
Ropes Trail0.2 mi
Nature Trail0.1 mi
Take Me to Church Connector0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Boyne Forest TrailsBike route
1.6 miCourts & fields
8Tennis
3Equestrian
2Basketball
1Beach volleyball
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Bay Township: May to August
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 | 13.4 | 14.9 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 29 | 39 | 51 | 65 | 74 | 78 | 77 | 70 | 56 | 43 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 3.0 | 2.5 |
February is the driest month (1.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 4.3 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Bay Township →
Next door
Bay Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bay Township | 5% | 0.9 | 390 | 31% | B+ |
| Resort Township | 5% | 0.8 | 90 | 40% | B+ |
| Hayes Township | 7% | 0.8 | 398 | 33% | A− |
| Evangeline Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Horton Bay | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Bay Township
Where can I hike in Bay Township?
The longest trail networks: Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit, 2.2 miles; Maplecrest Preserve, 0.8 miles; Church Family Preserve, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bay Township is conserved land?
5% 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 Township’s trails?
Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit and Maplecrest Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Bay Township?
1.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.5 of off-road paths. Named routes: Boyne Forest Trails.
Is there public land near Bay Township?
6,229 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bay Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 468 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Bay Township have?
Ahead of 74% 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 Bay 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 →