Allegan State Game Area
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
201 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
COutdoors
Outdoors in Cheshire Township
Cheshire Township has 230 acres of parks, 92 for every 1,000 residents
0.5 miles of mapped trail cross Cheshire Township. 25% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2% of Cheshire Township’s land is conserved, about 408 acres.
Ahead of 34% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
408 acres · of 34.8 sq mi of land
Trails
0.5 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
230 ac
92 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
25%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
7
1 beach · 3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Cheshire Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Cheshire Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Cheshire Township is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Cheshire Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land92 acres of park per 1,000 residents (230 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home25% 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 34%
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.
Swan Creek Preserve
Managed by Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy
21 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Swan Lake Public Access
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Duck Lake Public Access
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
408 conserved acres
2% of Cheshire Township’s land. Who manages Cheshire Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife202 ac
Private owners185 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits20 ac
State Conservation Area · 202 acPrivate Park · 185 acPrivate Conservation · 20 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allegan State Game Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 202 | Open |
| Cheshire Hills Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 185 | Restricted |
| Swan Creek Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 20 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Cheshire Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Cheshire Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Cheshire Township
1 playground without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Cheshire Township
Campgrounds in Cheshire Township
Camp Kaskitowa
DirectionsTrails & water
7 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Cheshire Township: June 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) | 32 | 35 | 46 | 59 | 70 | 80 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 62 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.7 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 2.6 |
February is the driest month (2.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.0 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Cheshire Township →
Next door
Cheshire Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Valley Township41 miLee Township6.3 miBloomingdale Township1.5 miCheshire Township0.5 miTrowbridge Township0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheshire Township | 2% | under 0.1 | 92 | 25% | C |
| Lee Township | 8% | 0.2 | 463 | 33% | B |
| Trowbridge Township | 5% | under 0.1 | 406 | 29% | C+ |
| Bloomingdale Township | 3% | under 0.1 | 187 | 31% | C+ |
| Valley Township | 70% | 1.2 | 7,229 | 61% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Cheshire Township
How much of Cheshire Township is conserved land?
2% 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 Cheshire Township’s trails?
Allegan State Game Area and Swan Creek Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Cheshire Township?
49,117 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Cheshire Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 230 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Cheshire Township have?
Ahead of 34% 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 Cheshire 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 →