Skeet Gehrman Park
Managed by Bedford Charter Township
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Bedford Township
Few parks or trails are on the map in Bedford Township
13 acres are parks and preserves, 1.4 per 1,000 residents. 20% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4.1 miles of mapped trail cross Bedford Township, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 15% of U.S. towns · #658 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
211 acres · of 29.1 sq mi of land
Trails
4.1 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
13 ac
1.4 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
20%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.1 mi
0.1 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
7
1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bedford Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bedford Township is ahead of 15% of U.S. towns, #658 of 701 in Michigan. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; trail miles come closest.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bedford Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land1.4 acres of park per 1,000 residents (13 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home20% 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 15%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 6%
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Bedford Township. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Wabascon Lake Boating Access Site
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
211 conserved acres
1% of Bedford Township’s land. Who manages Bedford Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners211 ac
Private Park · 211 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gull Lake View's Bedford Valley Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 163 | Restricted |
| Custer Greens Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 48 | Restricted |
Things to do
4 places to go in Bedford Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Bedford Township
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Bedford Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
7 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
1Baseball
1Tennis
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Camp Custer Veterans Administration Hospital-United States Veterans Hospital No. 100District · listed 2012
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Bedford 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 | 45 | 58 | 70 | 79 | 83 | 80 | 74 | 61 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 2.6 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.3 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Bedford Township →
Next door
Bedford Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Ross Township37 miBattle Creek30 miBedford Township4.1 miLevel Park-Oak Park2.8 miPennfield Township1.8 miSpringfield0.3 miJohnstown Township0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford Township | 1% | 0.1 | 1 | 20% | C− |
| Battle Creek | 4% | 0.7 | 20 | 74% | B+ |
| Level Park-Oak Park | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Pennfield Township | 1% | 0.1 | 9 | 36% | C− |
| Ross Township | 17% | 1.1 | 615 | 45% | A |
| Springfield | 3% | 0.1 | 9 | 92% | B− |
| Johnstown Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 80 | 23% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Bedford Township
How much of Bedford 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 Bedford Township’s trails?
Skeet Gehrman Park and Wabascon Lake Boating Access Site don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Bedford Township?
0.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Bedford Township?
9,192 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bedford Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 13 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Bedford Township have?
Ahead of 15% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #658 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 Bedford 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 →