Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
3,587 acres15.1 mi of trail
Long Lake ParkMis-Kal Snowmobile TrailGoose Lake Park
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Caldwell Township
Caldwell Township has 3,603 acres of parks, 2,388 for every 1,000 residents
16% of Caldwell Township’s land is conserved, about 3,610 acres. The biggest trail networks: Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit (15.1 mi). 23 miles of mapped trail cross Caldwell Township, 0.7 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
16%
3,610 acres · of 34.2 sq mi of land
Trails
23 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
3,603 ac
2,388 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
43%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
14
1 beach · 7 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Caldwell Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Caldwell Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Caldwell Township is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Caldwell Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land16% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (23 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land2,388 acres of park per 1,000 residents (3,603 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A+Parks 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 86%
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 Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit, with 15.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
3,610 conserved acres
16% of Caldwell Township’s land. Who manages Caldwell Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources3,553 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits40 ac
County17 ac
State Conservation Area · 3,553 acOther Easement · 40 acLocal Park · 17 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 40 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cadillac State Forest Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 3,553 | Open |
| Missaukee County Park Local Park | County | 17 | Open |
Things to do
11 places to go in Caldwell Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Caldwell Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Caldwell Township
7 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in Caldwell Township
Goose Lake State Forest CampgroundFee · In Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit
DirectionsLong Lake State Forest CampgroundFee · In Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit
DirectionsWhitlock Lake CampgroundIn Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit
DirectionsTrails & water
7 named trails and 14 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 20.4 mi
Long Lake Park1.6 mi
Mis-Kal Snowmobile Trail0.8 mi
Dakota Trail0.8 mi
Goose Lake Park0.8 mi
Wenonah Trail0.6 mi
West Dakota Trail0.3 mi
North Dakota Trail0.1 mi
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
3Baseball
2Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Caldwell 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 | 14.8 | 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) | 2.1 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.8 | 2.6 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 3.8 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Caldwell Township →
Next door
Caldwell Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Bloomfield Township75 miCedar Creek Township43 miLake Township25 miCaldwell Township23 miForest Township17 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caldwell Township | 16% | 0.7 | 2,388 | 43% | A |
| Cedar Creek Township | 10% | 1.3 | 1,309 | 23% | A− |
| Forest Township | 27% | 0.5 | 4,698 | 41% | A− |
| Lake Township | 11% | 0.8 | 746 | 49% | A |
| Bloomfield 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 Caldwell Township
Where can I hike in Caldwell Township?
The longest trail networks: Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit, 15.1 miles; Missaukee County Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Caldwell Township is conserved land?
16% 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 Caldwell Township’s trails?
Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit and Missaukee County Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Caldwell Township?
81,101 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Caldwell Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,603 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Caldwell Township have?
Ahead of 86% 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 Caldwell 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 →