Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The biggest trail networks: Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit (70.5 mi). 1 acre is park or preserve, 0.7 per 1,000 residents. 11% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 26% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Chester Township is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
The longest trail network is Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit, with 70.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
1% of Chester Township’s land. Who manages Chester Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camp Grayling Military Reservation State Other or Unknown | Other or Unknown Federal Land | 233 | Open |
| Big Lake Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 8 | Closed |
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
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 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 25 | 28 | 39 | 52 | 66 | 75 | 79 | 77 | 69 | 55 | 42 | 31 |
| Rain (in) | 1.9 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 2.6 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 3.6 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Chester Township →
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chester Township | 1% | 1.5 | 1 | 11% | C |
| Charlton Township | 23% | 1.2 | 9,149 | 23% | A |
| Bagley Township | 3% | 0.8 | 10 | 18% | C+ |
| Otsego Lake Township | 1% | 1.7 | 50 | 16% | B |
| Lovells Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Dover 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.
The longest trail networks: Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit, 70.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
1% 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.
Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit and Big Lake Public Access don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
69,558 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Chester Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 238 of them inside the town line.
Ahead of 26% 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.
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Chester Township neighbors.
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 →