Bear Lake Township has 7.1 miles of mapped trails, 0.2 for every square mile of land
3 acres are parks and preserves, 1.7 per 1,000 residents. 20% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 16% of U.S. towns. What drives it
How much outdoors does Bear Lake Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bear Lake Township is ahead of 16% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; trail miles come closest.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
215 conserved acres
1% of Bear Lake Township’s land. Who manages Bear Lake Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 60 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| County Highlands Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 154 | Restricted |
| Hopkins Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
3 places to go in Bear Lake Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 named trail and 6 lakes & rivers
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
The best walking months in Bear Lake Township: May 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 30 | 40 | 53 | 66 | 75 | 79 | 77 | 70 | 57 | 44 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 4.2 | 3.1 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.2 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Bear Lake Township →
Bear Lake 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bear Lake Township | 1% | 0.2 | 2 | 20% | C− |
| Maple Grove Township | 1% | 0.3 | 18 | 41% | C+ |
| Brown Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Onekama Township | 3% | 0.4 | 152 | 48% | B |
| Pleasanton Township | — 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 Bear Lake Township
How much of Bear Lake Township is conserved land?
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 Bear Lake Township’s trails?
Hopkins Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Bear Lake Township?
41,241 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bear Lake Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Bear Lake Township have?
Ahead of 16% 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 Bear Lake Township neighbors.
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 →