Emerald Isle Recreation Complex
Park
24 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Clare Downtown Historic District · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Clare
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Clare
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Emerald Isle Recreation Complex (0.6 mi). 108 acres are parks and preserves, 32 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 77% of U.S. towns · #225 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
64 acres · of 3.8 sq mi of land
Trails
1.2 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
108 ac
32 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.0 mi
1.0 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Clare?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Clare have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Clare is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns, #225 of 701 in Michigan. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Clare’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land32 acres of park per 1,000 residents (108 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 77%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 68%
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 Emerald Isle Recreation Complex, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Stamina Stadium Park
Park
16 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Shamrock Park
Park
13 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 8 parks & preserves
Emerald Isle Recreation Complex24 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsStamina Stadium Park16 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Brookwood Park33 acres
DirectionsShamrock Park13 acres
Pettit Park5 acres
Clare City Park1 acres
DirectionsClare Union Railroad Depot Park1 acres · City of Clare
DirectionsBarnes Island Park1 acres
Who protects it
64 conserved acres
3% of Clare’s land. Who manages Clare’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city63 ac
Local Park · 43 acLocal Recreation Area · 20 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brookwood Park Local Park | Town or city | 27 | Open |
| Stamina Stadium Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| Shamrock Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Pettit Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| City Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Clare
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Clare
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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.
1.0 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
14Soccer
9Baseball
4Tennis
2Pickleball
1Football
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Clare: July and 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) | 9.3 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 32 | 43 | 56 | 69 | 79 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 59 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 2.3 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Clare →
Next door
Clare and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clare | 3% | 0.3 | 32 | 99%+ | A− |
| Grant Township | 2% | 0.2 | 52 | 23% | C+ |
| Vernon Township | 2% | 0.1 | 1 | 12% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Clare
Where can I hike in Clare?
The longest trail networks: Emerald Isle Recreation Complex, 0.6 miles; Stamina Stadium Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Clare 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 Clare’s trails?
Emerald Isle Recreation Complex and Stamina Stadium Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Clare?
1.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.0 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Clare?
3,754 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Clare or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 108 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Clare have?
Ahead of 77% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #225 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 Clare 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 →