Riverbend Preserve
Nature preserve
51 acres1 mi of trail
Blue TrailYellow TrailRed TrailGreen Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Dwight Burdette · CC BY 3.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Bridgewater Township
Bridgewater Township has 224 acres of parks, 143 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Riverbend Preserve (1 mi), Ervin-Stucki Preserve (0.9 mi). 13% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3.6 miles of mapped trail cross Bridgewater Township, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 42% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
603 acres · of 36.2 sq mi of land
Trails
3.6 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
224 ac
143 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
13%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
6
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Bridgewater Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bridgewater Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bridgewater Township is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bridgewater Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4CPark land143 acres of park per 1,000 residents (224 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home13% 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 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 Riverbend Preserve, with 1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Ervin-Stucki Preserve
Managed by Washtenaw County
133 acres0.9 mi of trail
No dogs
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
603 conserved acres
3% of Bridgewater Township’s land. Who manages Bridgewater Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners190 ac
County185 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits181 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)68 ac
Other state land47 ac
Agricultural Easement · 239 acLocal Conservation Area · 185 acPrivate Park · 126 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 64 acConservation Easement · 47 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 228 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ervin-Stucki Preserve Local Conservation Area | County | 132 | Open |
| Rustic Glen Private Park | Private owners | 126 | Restricted |
| High Scope Camp Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 64 | Open |
| Riverbend Preserve Local Conservation Area | County | 53 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Bridgewater Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Bridgewater Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
4 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.0 mi
Blue Trail0.4 mi
Yellow Trail0.3 mi
Red Trail0.1 mi
Green Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Bridgewater Township: August and 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 | 15.2 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 45 | 59 | 70 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 62 | 48 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 3.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Bridgewater Township →
Next door
Bridgewater 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgewater Township | 3% | 0.1 | 143 | 13% | C+ |
| Manchester Township | 3% | 0.3 | 111 | 55% | B |
| Freedom Township | 6% | 0.2 | 170 | 2% | B− |
| Clinton Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 17 | 52% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Bridgewater Township
Where can I hike in Bridgewater Township?
The longest trail networks: Riverbend Preserve, 1 miles; Ervin-Stucki Preserve, 0.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bridgewater Township is conserved land?
3% 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 Bridgewater Township’s trails?
Riverbend Preserve and Ervin-Stucki Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Bridgewater Township?
12,947 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bridgewater Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 224 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Bridgewater 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 Bridgewater 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 →