Lake Michigan Beach Park
Park
18 acres0.9 mi of trail
Michigan Beach Pathway
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: User:My name · CC BY 3.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Charlevoix
Charlevoix has 5.6 miles of mapped trails, 2.7 for every square mile of land
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Lake Michigan Beach Park (0.9 mi). 9% of Charlevoix’s land is conserved, about 117 acres.
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
117 acres · of 2.1 sq mi of land
Trails
5.6 mi
2.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
61 ac
26 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.7 mi
0.7 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Charlevoix?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Charlevoix have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Charlevoix is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Charlevoix’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails2.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land26 acres of park per 1,000 residents (61 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 95%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A 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 Lake Michigan Beach Park, with 0.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Ferry Avenue Park
Managed by City of Charlevoix
7 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 6 parks & preserves
Lake Michigan Beach Park18 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
DirectionsFerry Avenue Park7 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · City of Charlevoix
DirectionsEast Park3 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsDepot Beach Park5 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsRotary Park10 acres
DirectionsPavilion Park1 acres
Who protects it
117 conserved acres
9% of Charlevoix’s land. Who manages Charlevoix’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city117 ac
Private Park · 67 acLocal Park · 50 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charlevoix Municipal Golf Course Private Park | Town or city | 67 | Restricted |
| Lake Michigan Beach Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Ferry Ave. Beach Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Ferry Beach Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Carpenter Ave Ball Fields Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Depot Beach Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| East Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Bridge Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
9 places to go in Charlevoix
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Charlevoix
4 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Charlevoix
4 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Charlevoix
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
2 named trails
Named trails
Michigan Beach Pathway0.4 mi
Lower Terrace0.1 mi
Biking & sports
0.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
15Tennis
5Basketball
4Baseball
2Beach volleyball
1Football
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Charlevoix: May to August
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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.9 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 29 | 38 | 49 | 62 | 72 | 76 | 76 | 69 | 56 | 44 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 2.9 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (1.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 76 °F). 4.3 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Charlevoix →
Questions about parks and trails in Charlevoix
Where can I hike in Charlevoix?
The longest trail networks: Lake Michigan Beach Park, 0.9 miles; Ferry Avenue Park, 0.3 miles; East Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Charlevoix is conserved land?
9% 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 Charlevoix’s trails?
Lake Michigan Beach Park and Ferry Avenue Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Charlevoix?
0.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.7 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Charlevoix?
4,906 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Charlevoix or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 61 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Charlevoix have?
Ahead of 95% 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 Charlevoix 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 →