Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
4,369 acres12.9 mi of trail
North Country National Scenic TrailSouthend Branch Line
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Boyne Valley Township
Boyne Valley Township has 257 acres of parks, 192 for every 1,000 residents
33 miles of mapped trail cross Boyne Valley Township, 1.0 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit (12.9 mi). 43% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 74% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
878 acres · of 34.8 sq mi of land
Trails
33 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
257 ac
192 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
43%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
14 mi
14 mi paths
Highest peak
1,129 ft
Boyne Mountain
Lakes & rivers
4
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Boyne Valley Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Boyne Valley Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Boyne Valley 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 Boyne Valley Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (33 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land192 acres of park per 1,000 residents (257 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home43% 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
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 12.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Three Bears Mountain Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
185 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
North Branch of the Boyne River Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
34 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Big Cedar Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
22 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit4,369 acres · 12.9 mi of trail · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Three Bears Mountain Nature Preserve185 acres
North Branch of the Boyne River Nature Preserve34 acres
Big Cedar Nature Preserve22 acres
Dam Road Trailhead6 acres · Township of Boyne Valley
DirectionsBoyne Valley Township Park2 acres · Boyne Valley Township
DirectionsBoyne Falls Village Park2 acres · Village of Boyne Falls
DirectionsWho protects it
878 conserved acres
4% of Boyne Valley Township’s land. Who manages Boyne Valley Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners560 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits316 ac
Town or city2 ac
Private Park · 560 acPrivate Conservation · 316 acLocal Park · 2 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 10 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boyne Mountain Resort Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 529 | Restricted |
| Three Bears Mountain Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 158 | Open |
| Wisser-Saworski Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 34 | Unknown |
| North Branch of the Boyne River Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 34 | Open |
| Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 31 | Restricted |
| Carpenter Family Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 30 | Open |
| Peter P. Faskey Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 29 | Unknown |
| Big Cedar Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 23 | Open |
| Wellman Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 8 | Closed |
| Nelson Street Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Boyne Valley Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Boyne Valley Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Boyne Valley Township
2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Boyne Valley Township
Boyne Mountain1,129 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
13 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.8 miUnpaved · 18.9 mi
North Country National Scenic Trail2.8 mi
Cart Path2.1 mi
Innsbruck2.0 mi
Southend Branch Line1.6 mi
Pancake1.2 mi
Judys1.2 mi
Twister1.0 mi
Vojin's0.9 mi
Skip's0.8 mi
Lillehammer0.8 mi
3 more trails
Kirk's Kanyon
0.7 miChristmas
0.6 miSyrup
0.6 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
14 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
14 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
15Tennis
4Baseball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Boyne Valley 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 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 29 | 40 | 53 | 67 | 77 | 80 | 78 | 71 | 57 | 43 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 3.0 | 2.6 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.1 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Boyne Valley Township →
Next door
Boyne Valley Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Hudson Township64 miWarner Township53 miBoyne Valley Township33 miMelrose Township31 miWilson Township24 miBoyne City7.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boyne Valley Township | 4% | 1.0 | 192 | 43% | B+ |
| Boyne City | 8% | 1.8 | 54 | 96% | A |
| Wilson Township | 4% | 0.7 | 324 | 14% | B |
| Hudson Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Melrose Township | 2% | 1.0 | 39 | 33% | B |
| Warner 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 Boyne Valley Township
Where can I hike in Boyne Valley Township?
The longest trail networks: Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit, 12.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Boyne Valley Township 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 Boyne Valley Township’s trails?
Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit and Three Bears Mountain Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Boyne Valley Township?
14 miles of bike routes are on the map: 14 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Boyne Valley Township?
5,858 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Boyne Valley Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 257 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Boyne Valley 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 Boyne Valley 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 →