Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
922 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Churchill Township
Churchill Township has 6.8 miles of mapped trails, 0.2 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit (0.6 mi). 49 acres are parks and preserves, 30 per 1,000 residents. 44% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 36% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
42 acres · of 35.5 sq mi of land
Trails
6.8 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
49 ac
30 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
44%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
2 beaches
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Churchill Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Churchill Township is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Churchill Township’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land30 acres of park per 1,000 residents (49 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home44% 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 36%
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
The longest trail network is Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
42 conserved acres
under 1% of Churchill Township’s land. Who manages Churchill Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners36 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits5 ac
Private Recreation or Education · 36 acConservation Easement · 5 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Boy Scout Camp Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 36 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Churchill Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Churchill Township
Lake Ogemaw Sand Bar
DirectionsWest Park Beach
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Oleskie Trail1.0 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
2Equestrian
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Churchill Township: May and 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 31 | 42 | 55 | 68 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 59 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 1.8 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 2.4 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 3.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Churchill Township →
Next door
Churchill Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Mills Township33 miCumming Township26 miWest Branch Township9.9 miChurchill Township6.8 miLogan Township2.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Churchill Township | under 1% | 0.2 | 30 | 44% | C+ |
| Mills Township | 16% | 1.0 | 622 | 44% | A |
| Cumming Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Logan Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| West Branch 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 Churchill Township
Where can I hike in Churchill Township?
The longest trail networks: Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Churchill Township is conserved land?
under 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.
Are dogs allowed on Churchill Township’s trails?
Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Churchill Township?
20,915 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Churchill Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 49 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Churchill Township have?
Ahead of 36% 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 Churchill 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 →