Columbia Nature Sanctuary
Managed by Michigan Nature Association
37 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: Dwight Burdette · CC BY 3.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Columbia Township
Columbia Township has 287 acres of parks, 39 for every 1,000 residents
2.4 miles of mapped trail cross Columbia Township, 0.1 per square mile of land. 33% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2% of Columbia Township’s land is conserved, about 589 acres.
Ahead of 39% of U.S. towns · #530 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
589 acres · of 36.6 sq mi of land
Trails
2.4 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
287 ac
39 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
33%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
6
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Columbia Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Columbia Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Columbia Township is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns, #530 of 701 in Michigan. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Columbia Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4CPark land39 acres of park per 1,000 residents (287 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home33% 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 39%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 24%
Water is 7% of Columbia Township’s area (3 of 40 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 2%.
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.
Swain Memorial Park
Park
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Vineyard Park
Managed by Jackson County
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
589 conserved acres
2% of Columbia Township’s land. Water is left out: Columbia Township has 36.6 square miles of land and 3.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Columbia Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners328 ac
Town or city196 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits48 ac
Other state land10 ac
County6 ac
Private Park · 289 acLocal Recreation Area · 190 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 45 acPrivate Conservation · 41 acLocal Park · 13 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clark Lake Golf Club Private Park | Private owners | 209 | Restricted |
| Camp De Sales Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 190 | Open |
| Heart of the Lakes Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 80 | Restricted |
| Columbia Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 41 | Open |
| Kleinbach Campground Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 38 | Open |
| Camp Storer Private Recreation or Education | Land trusts & nonprofits | 7 | Restricted |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Clark Lake Park Local Park | County | 6 | Open |
| Vineyard Lake Park Local Park | County | 1 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Columbia Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Columbia Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Columbia Township
1 playground without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Columbia Township
Trails & water
1 named trail and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 1.0 mi
Horse Track1.0 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
8Tennis
2Baseball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 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 Columbia Township: 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.2 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 45 | 58 | 70 | 79 | 82 | 80 | 74 | 61 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.6 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.8 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Columbia Township →
Next door
Columbia Township 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia Township | 2% | 0.1 | 39 | 33% | C+ |
| Norvell Township | 14% | 0.3 | 1,172 | 35% | A− |
| Napoleon Township | 6% | under 0.1 | 49 | 31% | B− |
| Liberty Township | 4% | 0.3 | 329 | 29% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Columbia Township
How much of Columbia 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 Columbia Township’s trails?
Columbia Nature Sanctuary and Swain Memorial Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Columbia Township?
14,011 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Columbia Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 287 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Columbia Township have?
Ahead of 39% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #530 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 Columbia 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 →