Bennet Park
Managed by City of Charlotte
150 acres9.4 mi of trail
The GullyJungle 1The PinesJungle 2+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Shirl · CC BY 2.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Charlotte
Charlotte has 12 miles of mapped trails, 1.9 for every square mile of land
10% of Charlotte’s land is conserved, about 422 acres. The biggest trail networks: Bennet Park (9.4 mi). 86% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns · #82 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
10%
422 acres · of 6.5 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
1.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
214 ac
23 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
86%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.0 mi
0.8 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Charlotte?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Charlotte have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Charlotte is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #82 of 701 in Michigan. 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 Charlotte’s overall grade.
Conserved land10% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land23 acres of park per 1,000 residents (214 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home86% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 90%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 88%
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 Bennet Park, with 9.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 9 parks & preserves
Bennet Park150 acres · 9.4 mi of trail · City of Charlotte
DirectionsLincoln Park25 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsCourthouse Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsOak Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
South Water Tower Park14 acres
DirectionsRotary Park10 acres
DirectionsButternut Creek Park8 acres
DirectionsDean Park2 acres
Southridge Park1 acres
Who protects it
422 conserved acres
10% of Charlotte’s land. Who manages Charlotte’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners143 ac
Town or city132 ac
County88 ac
Other state land73 ac
Private Park · 143 acLocal Park · 132 acLocal Recreation Area · 88 acConservation Easement · 73 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 73 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte Country Club Private Park | Private owners | 143 | Restricted |
| Bennett/ Veterans Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 105 | Open |
| Eaton Fairgrounds Local Recreation Area | County | 88 | Restricted |
| Lincoln Park Local Park | Town or city | 23 | Open |
| Dean Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Oak Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Gateway Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Snell Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
20 places to go in Charlotte
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Charlotte
20 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
10 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 7.4 miUnpaved · 8.8 mi
The Gully1.9 mi
Jungle 11.2 mi
The Pines1.1 mi
Jungle 21.1 mi
Hardwoods1.0 mi
Northshore0.7 mi
North Shore0.5 mi
Gully Bisector0.2 mi
Jungle Bisector0.2 mi
Old Car Bridge0.1 mi
Biking & sports
1.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.8 mi
off-road bike paths
0.2 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Bennett Park MTB TrailsBike route
7 miCourts & fields
15Tennis
9Baseball
7Soccer
5Basketball
2Football
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Eaton County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1971
About itEaton County Courthouse ComplexBuilding · listed 1993
About itFirst Congregational ChurchBuilding · listed 1993
About itMichigan Central Railroad Charlotte DepotBuilding · listed 2000
About itCharlotte Central Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2020
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Charlotte: 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 34 | 44 | 58 | 69 | 79 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 61 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 2.7 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.1 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Charlotte →
Next door
Charlotte and its neighbors
Charlotte has the most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte | 10% | 1.9 | 23 | 86% | A |
| Eaton Township | 1% | 0.1 | 118 | 12% | C+ |
| Carmel Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 2 | 5% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Charlotte
Where can I hike in Charlotte?
The longest trail networks: Bennet Park, 9.4 miles; Lincoln Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Charlotte is conserved land?
10% 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 Charlotte’s trails?
Bennet Park and Lincoln Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Charlotte?
1.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.8 of off-road paths and 0.2 of shoulders and shared lanes. Named routes: Bennett Park MTB Trails.
Is there public land near Charlotte?
2,399 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Charlotte or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 214 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Charlotte have?
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #82 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 Charlotte 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 →