Newaygo State Park
Park
407 acres3.9 mi of trail
The Dragon Trail - Segment #2The Dragon Trail - Segment #3
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Hardy Hydroelectric Plant · Photo: Larry Pieniazek, Lar (commons) or User:Lar (wikipedia) · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Big Prairie Township
Big Prairie Township has 657 acres of parks, 264 for every 1,000 residents
19% of Big Prairie Township’s land is conserved, about 3,798 acres. 44 miles of mapped trail cross Big Prairie Township, 1.4 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Newaygo State Park (3.9 mi), Sandy Beach County Park (1.2 mi).
Ahead of 89% of U.S. towns · #90 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
19%
3,798 acres · of 31.5 sq mi of land
Trails
44 mi
1.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
657 ac
264 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
41%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
3 beaches · 9 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Big Prairie Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Big Prairie Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Big Prairie Township is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns, #90 of 701 in Michigan. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Big Prairie Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land19% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (44 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land264 acres of park per 1,000 residents (657 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home41% 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 89%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 87%
Water is 13% of Big Prairie Township’s area (5 of 36 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 16%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Newaygo State Park, with 3.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Sandy Beach County Park
Park
111 acres1.2 mi of trail
The Dragon Trail - Segment #10The Dragon Trail - Segment #9
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Hardy Dam Reservoir Park
Park
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
3,798 conserved acres
19% of Big Prairie Township’s land. Water is left out: Big Prairie Township has 31.5 square miles of land and 4.8 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Big Prairie Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service3,680 ac
Town or city118 ac
National Forest · 3,680 acLocal Park · 118 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manistee National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 3,680 | Open |
| Big Bend Park Local Park | Town or city | 103 | Open |
| Hardy Dam Day Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Oxbow Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
Things to do
20 places to go in Big Prairie Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Big Prairie Township
3 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Big Prairie Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Big Prairie Township
9 boat launches without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Big Prairie Township
Big Bend Township ParkBig Prairie Township
DirectionsNewaygo State Park Oak CampgroundIn Newaygo State Park · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsNewaygo State Park Poplar CampgroundIn Newaygo State Park · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsOxbow Park
DirectionsSportsman Park Campground & Boat Slips
DirectionsPlus 1 campground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
9 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 25.4 miUnpaved · 35.9 mi
The Dragon Trail - Segment #96.4 mi
The Dragon Trail - Segment #74.2 mi
The Dragon Trail - Segment #43.0 mi
The Dragon Trail - Segment #12.2 mi
The Dragon Trail - Segment #102.2 mi
The Dragon Trail - Segment #32.1 mi
The Dragon Trail - Segment #21.7 mi
The Dragon Trail - Segment #81.7 mi
The Dragon Trail - Connector0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
The DragonBike route
23.5 miCourts & fields
2Beach volleyball
1Baseball
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).
Hardy Hydroelectric PlantStructure · listed 1997
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Big Prairie Township: June 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) | 9.3 | 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 | 43 | 57 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 59 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.8 | 3.0 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.8 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Big Prairie Township →
Next door
Big Prairie Township and its neighbors
Big Prairie Township has the most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Big Prairie Township44 miCroton Township27 miGoodwell Township26 miEverett Township25 miAetna Township18 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Prairie Township | 19% | 1.4 | 264 | 41% | A |
| Everett Township | 23% | 0.7 | 28 | 15% | B+ |
| Croton Township | 11% | 0.8 | 50 | 26% | B+ |
| Aetna Township | 14% | 0.5 | 135 | 9% | B+ |
| Goodwell 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 Big Prairie Township
Where can I hike in Big Prairie Township?
The longest trail networks: Newaygo State Park, 3.9 miles; Sandy Beach County Park, 1.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Big Prairie Township is conserved land?
19% 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 Big Prairie Township’s trails?
Newaygo State Park and Sandy Beach County Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Big Prairie Township?
51,097 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Big Prairie Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4,211 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Big Prairie Township have?
Ahead of 89% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #90 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 Big Prairie 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 →