Outdoors in Comins Township

Comins Township has 703 acres of parks, 378 for every 1,000 residents

21% of Comins Township’s land is conserved, about 9,379 acres. 87 miles of mapped trail cross Comins Township, 1.2 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Huron National Forest (17.4 mi), Au Sable State Forest - Grayling Unit (9.4 mi).

Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Conserved land

21%

9,379 acres · of 70.5 sq mi of land

Trails

87 mi

1.2 per sq mi of land

Park land

703 ac

378 acres per 1,000 residents

Near a park

26%

of residents within ½ mile

Lakes & rivers

2 beaches · 2 boat launches

What kind of outdoors town is Comins Township?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Room to roam378 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.Land that stays wild21% of the land is conserved; a typical Michigan town, 5%.A trail town1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 85% of U.S. towns.

Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Comins Township have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Comins Township is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.

OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Comins Township’s overall grade.

Conserved land21% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%A Trails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (87 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A⁻Park land378 acres of park per 1,000 residents (703 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A Parks close to home26% 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 86%

LessMore

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 Huron National Forest, with 17.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Huron National Forest

Managed by United States Forest Service

8,525 acres17.4 mi of trail

Barakel TrailRed Bus TrailForest Rd 4891Forest Rd 4013+1

Dog rules not recorded

No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗

Au Sable State Forest - Grayling Unit

Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources

1,830 acres9.4 mi of trail

Mio ORV RouteVelda Trail

Dog rules not recorded

Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Boney Park

Managed by Comins Township

18 acres

Dog rules not recorded

No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗

Perry Lake Park

Managed by Comins Township

13 acres

Dog rules not recorded

Directionsto the parking lot

All 6 parks & preserves

Huron National Forest8,525 acres · 17.4 mi of trail · United States Forest Service

Au Sable State Forest - Grayling Unit1,830 acres · 9.4 mi of trail · Michigan Department of Natural Resources

Directions

Boney Park18 acres · Comins Township

Perry Lake Park13 acres · Comins Township

Directions

Smith Lake Park5 acres

Directions

Snow Valley2 acres

Directions

Who protects it

9,379 conserved acres

21% of Comins Township’s land. Who manages Comins Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

U.S. Forest Service8,559 ac

Private owners394 ac

Town or city355 ac

Land trusts & nonprofits72 ac

County8 ac

National Forest · 8,559 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 335 acLocal Recreation Area · 324 acConservation Easement · 72 acPrivate Park · 59 ac

Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 72 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
Huron National Forest National Forest	U.S. Forest Service	8,559	Open
Camp Michi-Lu-Ka Private Recreation or Education	Private owners	335	Open
Camp Barakel Local Recreation Area	Town or city	324	Open
Fairview Hills Golf Course Private Park	Private owners	59	Restricted
Perry Lake Park Local Park	Town or city	24	Open
Smith Lake Park Local Park	County	8	Open
Boney Memorial Park Local Park	Town or city	7	Open

Things to do

22 places to go in Comins Township

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Playgrounds in Comins Township

Bouldering Wall

Game Room

Zipline Entrance

Zipline Exit

Plus 6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.

Trails & water

8 named trails and 17 lakes & rivers

Named trails

Open to bikes · 3.8 miUnpaved · 18.7 mi

Barakel Trail2.9 mi

Mio ORV Route2.2 mi

Velda Trail1.9 mi

Red Bus Trail1.9 mi

Forest Rd 48911.3 mi

Forest Rd 40130.7 mi

Hardy Grade0.1 mi

Old Hardy Grade0.1 mi

Lakes & rivers tap for directions

Blamer Pondreservoir Catfish Pond Dutch Lakepond Horseshoe Lakelake Indian Lakelake Island Lakelake Lake Davidlake Mud Lakelake North Helmer Lakelake Penoger Lakelake Perry Lakereservoir Shamrock Lakelake Shear Lakelake Sherwood Pondpond Smith Lakelake Spring Lakelake Upper South Branch Thunder Bay River

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

7Soccer

6Basketball

4Baseball

4Volleyball

3Beach volleyball

2Softball

2Tennis

2Pickleball

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

When to get out

The best walking months in Comins Township: May, June, August 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)	9.2	10.4	11.8	13.4	14.8	15.6	15.2	14.0	12.4	10.9	9.5	8.8
High (°F)	26	29	39	53	66	76	80	78	70	56	42	32
Rain (in)	1.7	1.4	1.6	2.8	3.1	3.1	3.3	3.3	2.9	3.1	2.1	1.9

February is the driest month (1.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 3.3 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Comins Township →

Next door

Comins Township and its neighbors

Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Mentor Township266 mi Mitchell Township224 mi Elmer Township134 mi Clinton Township121 mi Comins Township87 mi Mio11 mi

Town	Conserved of land	Trail mi per sq mi	Park acres per 1,000	Near a park ½ mile	Outdoors
Comins Township	21%	1.2	378	26%	A
Clinton Township	— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Elmer Township	under 1%	1.9	63	2%	B⁻
Mentor Township	90%	1.9	391	38%	A
Mitchell Township	— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Mio	— 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 Comins Township

Where can I hike in Comins Township?

The longest trail networks: Huron National Forest, 17.4 miles; Au Sable State Forest - Grayling Unit, 9.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Comins Township is conserved land?

21% 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 Comins Township’s trails?

Huron National Forest and Au Sable State Forest - Grayling Unit don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Is there public land near Comins Township?

160,924 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Comins Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 9,389 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Comins Township have?

Ahead of 86% 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 Comins Township neighbors.

Town Square →

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 →

Post to Comins Township

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Comins Township has 703 acres of parks, 378 for every 1,000 residents

What kind of outdoors town is Comins Township?

How much outdoors does Comins Township have?

Conserved land, trails & bike routes

Pick a walk

Huron National Forest

Au Sable State Forest - Grayling Unit

Boney Park

Perry Lake Park

9,379 conserved acres

22 places to go in Comins Township

8 named trails and 17 lakes & rivers

0.0 miles of bike routes

The best walking months in Comins Township: May, June, August and September

Comins Township and its neighbors

Questions about parks and trails in Comins Township

Trail talk

Where this page comes from