Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
498 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Butman Township
Butman Township has 333 acres of parks, 153 for every 1,000 residents
7% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1.1 miles of mapped trail cross Butman Township. 3% of Butman Township’s land is conserved, about 620 acres.
Ahead of 36% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
620 acres · of 34.0 sq mi of land
Trails
1.1 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
333 ac
153 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
7%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
8
4 beaches · 5 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Butman Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Butman Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Butman Township is ahead of 36% 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 Butman Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land153 acres of park per 1,000 residents (333 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home7% 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 36%
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lake Four Public Access
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
620 conserved acres
3% of Butman Township’s land. Who manages Butman Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners455 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits156 ac
Other state land9 ac
Private Conservation · 203 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 170 acConservation Easement · 165 acPrivate Park · 83 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 165 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sugar Springs Hunting Preserve Private Conservation | Private owners | 203 | Closed |
| Good News Camp Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 170 | Open |
| Hockaday Hunt Club Private Park | Private owners | 83 | Open |
Things to do
12 places to go in Butman Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Butman Township
4 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Butman Township
3 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Butman Township
Lake Four Boat LaunchIn Lake Four Public Access
DirectionsPlus 4 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
8 lakes & rivers
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.
Courts & fields
2Beach volleyball
2Pickleball
2Tennis
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Butman 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 32 | 42 | 55 | 68 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 72 | 59 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 1.9 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 2.4 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.5 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Butman Township →
Next door
Butman 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butman Township | 3% | under 0.1 | 153 | 7% | C+ |
| Clement Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Gladwin Township | under 1% | 0.1 | under 1 | 4% | D |
| Sherman Township | 23% | 1.2 | 5,048 | 5% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Butman Township
How much of Butman 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 Butman Township’s trails?
Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit and Lake Four Public Access don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Butman Township?
39,329 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Butman Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 333 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Butman Township have?
Ahead of 36% 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 Butman 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 →