Manistee National Forest - Baldwin Ranger District
Managed by United States Forest Service
7,600 acres26.8 mi of trail
Forest Road 6661Forest Road 6292SaundersForest Road 6505+1
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Branch Township
35% of Branch Township’s land is conserved: 8,024 acres
37 miles of mapped trail cross Branch Township, 1.0 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Manistee National Forest - Baldwin Ranger District (26.8 mi).
Ahead of 42% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
35%
8,024 acres · of 35.4 sq mi of land
Trails
37 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
11
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Branch Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Branch Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Branch Township is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Branch Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land35% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (37 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land0.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (0 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13DParks close to home0% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%D−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 42%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B+. 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 Manistee National Forest - Baldwin Ranger District, with 26.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
8,024 conserved acres
35% of Branch Township’s land. Who manages Branch Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service7,619 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits339 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)68 ac
National Forest · 7,619 acConservation Easement · 399 acAgricultural Easement · 8 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 405 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manistee National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 7,619 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Branch Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Branch Township
Walhalla Bridge River Access
DirectionsPlus 1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Fishing spots in Branch Township
Maple Leaf Fishing Access SiteIn Manistee National Forest - Baldwin Ranger District
DirectionsCampgrounds in Branch Township
Log Mark Rest Stop Canoe and Fishing LandingHours: Nov 01 - Apr 30 off · In Manistee National Forest - Baldwin Ranger District
DirectionsWhelan Lake Area Primitive CampgroundIn Manistee National Forest - Baldwin Ranger District · United States Forest Service
DirectionsTrails & water
12 named trails and 11 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 9.1 mi
Forest Road 66612.7 mi
Forest Road 62921.1 mi
Saunders1.0 mi
Forest Road 65050.8 mi
Forest Road 65040.7 mi
Forest Road 65070.7 mi
Forest Road 65060.7 mi
Forest Road 64940.4 mi
Forest Road 67160.3 mi
Forest Road 65100.2 mi
2 more trails
National Forest Road 6671
0.2 miForest Road 6508
0.2 miBiking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
3Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Branch 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 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 32 | 43 | 56 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 79 | 72 | 59 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 4.0 | 3.2 | 2.3 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.0 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Branch Township →
Next door
Branch Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Sweetwater Township80 miSauble Township69 miLogan Township62 miBranch Township37 miSheridan Township13 miCuster Township6.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Branch Township | 35% | 1.0 | under 1 | under 1% | C+ |
| Logan Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Sheridan Township | 16% | 0.4 | under 1 | under 1% | C |
| Custer Township | 6% | 0.2 | 41 | 26% | B− |
| Sweetwater Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Sauble 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 Branch Township
Where can I hike in Branch Township?
The longest trail networks: Manistee National Forest - Baldwin Ranger District, 26.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Branch Township is conserved land?
35% 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 Branch Township’s trails?
Manistee National Forest - Baldwin Ranger District doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Branch Township?
117,732 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Branch Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 6,991 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Branch Township have?
Ahead of 42% 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 Branch 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 →