Escanaba River State Forest - Gwinn Unit (South)
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
12,595 acres20.7 mi of trail
North Country TrailCounty Road BaaSnowmobile Trail #417
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Chocolay Township
Chocolay Township has 1,112 acres of parks, 186 for every 1,000 residents
54 miles of mapped trail cross Chocolay Township, 0.9 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Escanaba River State Forest - Gwinn Unit (South) (20.7 mi), Beaver Grove Recreation Area (0.8 mi), Chocolay Bayou Nature Preserve (0.5 mi). 37% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns · #293 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
1,133 acres · of 59.0 sq mi of land
Trails
54 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,112 ac
186 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
37%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
17 mi
17 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
9
1 beach · 3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Chocolay Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Chocolay Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Chocolay Township is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns, #293 of 701 in Michigan. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Chocolay Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (54 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land186 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,112 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home37% 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 70%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 58%
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 Escanaba River State Forest - Gwinn Unit (South), with 20.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Beaver Grove Recreation Area
Park
22 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Chocolay Bayou Nature Preserve
Managed by Upper Peninsula Land Conservancy
13 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Marquette Underwater Preserve
Nature preserve
490 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
Escanaba River State Forest - Gwinn Unit (South)12,595 acres · 20.7 mi of trail · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Beaver Grove Recreation Area22 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsChocolay Bayou Nature Preserve13 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Upper Peninsula Land Conservancy
DirectionsChocolay Township Marina4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsMarquette Underwater Preserve490 acres
Marquette Unit490 acres
DirectionsM-28 Bridge Chocolay River Access6 acres · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsWho protects it
1,133 conserved acres
3% of Chocolay Township’s land. Who manages Chocolay Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife952 ac
Town or city134 ac
Other state land42 ac
County6 ac
State Conservation Area · 952 acLocal Conservation Area · 134 acConservation Easement · 42 acLocal Park · 6 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 42 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sand River / Jeske Flooding State Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 551 | Open |
| Lake LaVasseur Flooding State Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 401 | Open |
| Chocolay Township Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 72 | Open |
| Fernwood Park Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 53 | Open |
| Township Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | County | 6 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Chocolay Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Chocolay Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Chocolay Township
Chocolay Township MarinaIn Chocolay Township Marina
DirectionsLake Le Vasseur Boat LaunchIn Escanaba River State Forest - Gwinn Unit (South)
DirectionsSand River Flooding Boat LaunchIn Escanaba River State Forest - Gwinn Unit (South)
DirectionsDisc golf in Chocolay Township
Silver Creek Disc Golf Course
DirectionsTrails & water
7 named trails and 9 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 5.1 miUnpaved · 14.4 mi
Snowmobile Trail #4178.2 mi
North Country Trail5.1 mi
County Road Baa2.9 mi
County Road BU1.9 mi
County Road BFA0.6 mi
Poplar Trail0.5 mi
Driveway/Cart access0.1 mi
Biking & sports
17 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
17 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
4Tennis
3Baseball
2Soccer
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Chocolay Township: May and 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) | 9.0 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 15.8 | 15.5 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.6 |
| High (°F) | 25 | 28 | 36 | 47 | 60 | 70 | 75 | 75 | 67 | 54 | 41 | 30 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 2.7 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 2.6 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 75 °F). 3.6 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Chocolay Township →
Next door
Chocolay Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Sands Township162 miOnota Township78 miChocolay Township54 miSkandia Township19 miWest Branch Township10 miHarvey6.8 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chocolay Township | 3% | 0.9 | 186 | 37% | B+ |
| Sands Township | under 1% | 2.4 | 226 | 56% | B+ |
| Onota Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Harvey | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| West Branch Township | under 1% | 0.3 | 54 | 50% | C+ |
| Skandia 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 Chocolay Township
Where can I hike in Chocolay Township?
The longest trail networks: Escanaba River State Forest - Gwinn Unit (South), 20.7 miles; Beaver Grove Recreation Area, 0.8 miles; Chocolay Bayou Nature Preserve, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Chocolay Township is conserved land?
3% 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 Chocolay Township’s trails?
Escanaba River State Forest - Gwinn Unit (South) and Beaver Grove Recreation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Chocolay Township?
17 miles of bike routes are on the map: 17 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Chocolay Township?
16,626 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Chocolay Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,112 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Chocolay Township have?
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #293 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 Chocolay 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 →