William Mitchell State Park
Park
111 acres1.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Cadillac Public Library · Photo: Andrew Jameson · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Cadillac
Cadillac has 695 acres of parks, 67 for every 1,000 residents
13% of Cadillac’s land is conserved, about 709 acres. 94% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 8.0 miles of mapped trail cross Cadillac, 1.0 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns · #39 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
709 acres · of 8.3 sq mi of land
Trails
8.0 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
695 ac
67 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
94%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
10 mi
4.3 mi lanes · 5.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
3 beaches · 10 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Cadillac?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Cadillac have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Cadillac is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #39 of 701 in Michigan. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, trail miles lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Cadillac’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land67 acres of park per 1,000 residents (695 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home94% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 94%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 95%
Water is 18% of Cadillac’s area (2 of 10 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 11%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 William Mitchell State Park, with 1.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Diggins Hill Community Park
Managed by City Of Cadillac
30 acres0.7 mi of trail
The BacksideThe C LineDiggins' DownhillThe B Line
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Walter Kysor Fields
Managed by City of Cadillac
7 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
William Mitchell State Park111 acres · 1.7 mi of trail
DirectionsKenwood Heritage Park91 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
DirectionsDiggins Hill Community Park30 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · City Of Cadillac
Walter Kysor Fields7 acres · City of Cadillac
Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit2 acres · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Cadillac City Park1 acres
DirectionsChris Blackburn Skate Park1 acres · City of Cadillac
DirectionsWho protects it
709 conserved acres
13% of Cadillac’s land. Water is left out: Cadillac has 8.3 square miles of land and 1.9 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Cadillac’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources495 ac
Town or city147 ac
Other state land66 ac
State Park · 495 acLocal Park · 111 acConservation Easement · 66 acLocal Recreation Area · 36 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 67 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Pine Trail State Park State Park | State natural resources | 385 | Open |
| Mitchell State Park State Park | State natural resources | 109 | Open |
| Kenwood Heritage Park Local Park | Town or city | 89 | Open |
| Cadillac Dog Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 26 | Open |
| Diggins Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Kysor Memorial Ballfields Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Ford Street Field Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Cadillac Rotary Pavillion Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Cadillac City Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
20 places to go in Cadillac
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Cadillac
3 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Cadillac
5 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Cadillac
Kenwood Beach Boat Launch
DirectionsPlus 9 boat launches without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Cadillac
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in Cadillac
Mitchell State Park CampgroundIn William Mitchell State Park
DirectionsTrails & water
4 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.7 miUnpaved · 1.1 mi
The Backside0.3 mi
The C Line0.1 mi
Diggins' Downhill0.1 mi
The B Line0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
10 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.3 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
5.4 mi
off-road bike paths
0.3 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
13Tennis
11Baseball
2Football
1Volleyball
1Beach volleyball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →9 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Shay LocomotiveStructure · listed 1981
About itOld Cadillac City HallBuilding · listed 1986
About itCharles T. Mitchell HouseBuilding · listed 1986
About itFrank J. Cobbs HouseBuilding · listed 1988
About itElks Temple BuildingBuilding · listed 1988
About itMasonic Temple BuildingBuilding · listed 1994
About itCadillac Public LibraryBuilding · listed 2007
About itCobbs and Mitchell BuildingBuilding · listed 2010
About itCooley SchoolBuilding · listed 2026
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Cadillac: 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 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 30 | 41 | 54 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 71 | 57 | 43 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 2.8 | 2.3 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 3.9 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Cadillac →
Next door
Cadillac 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cadillac | 13% | 1.0 | 67 | 94% | A |
| Haring Township | 25% | 2.7 | 1,460 | 61% | A+ |
| Clam Lake Township | 9% | 0.2 | 556 | 24% | B |
| Cherry Grove Township | 41% | 0.9 | 267 | 12% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Cadillac
Where can I hike in Cadillac?
The longest trail networks: William Mitchell State Park, 1.7 miles; Kenwood Heritage Park, 0.9 miles; Diggins Hill Community Park, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Cadillac is conserved land?
13% 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 Cadillac’s trails?
William Mitchell State Park and Kenwood Heritage Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Cadillac?
10 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.3 of painted or protected lanes, 5.4 of off-road paths and 0.3 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Cadillac?
64,870 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Cadillac or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 695 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Cadillac have?
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #39 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 Cadillac 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 →