Chipman Preserve
Managed by Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy
224 acres5 mi of trail
Woodland TrailPrairie TrailSavanna TrailNursery Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Comstock Township
Comstock Township has 708 acres of parks, 46 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Chipman Preserve (5 mi), Fred McLinden Nature Trails (3.2 mi). 4% of Comstock Township’s land is conserved, about 781 acres. 9.4 miles of mapped trail cross Comstock Township, 0.3 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns · #390 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
781 acres · of 33.3 sq mi of land
Trails
9.4 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
708 ac
46 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
46%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
7.1 mi
7.1 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
6
1 beach · 3 boat launches
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Comstock Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Comstock Township is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns, #390 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 Comstock Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land46 acres of park per 1,000 residents (708 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home46% 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 57%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 44%
Water is 6% of Comstock Township’s area (2 of 35 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 4%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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 Chipman Preserve, with 5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Fred McLinden Nature Trails
Managed by City of Kalamazoo
370 acres3.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 15 parks & preserves
Chipman Preserve224 acres · 5 mi of trail · Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy
DirectionsFred McLinden Nature Trails370 acres · 3.2 mi of trail · City of Kalamazoo
DirectionsMerrill Park6 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsNeal Street Park2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Comstock Township
DirectionsKEKA Preserve33 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy
Marc's Marsh10 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy
River Oaks County Park266 acres
DirectionsRiver Villa Township Park57 acres
Myers Nature Preserve39 acres · Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy
Robert Morris Park32 acres
DirectionsCooper Park6 acres
Morrow Lake Public Access3 acres · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
North Wenke Park1 acres
DirectionsShafter Park1 acres · City of Galesburg
South Wenke Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
781 conserved acres
4% of Comstock Township’s land. Water is left out: Comstock Township has 33.3 square miles of land and 1.9 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Comstock Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits345 ac
County211 ac
Private owners135 ac
Town or city60 ac
Other state land30 ac
Private Conservation · 345 acLocal Park · 246 acPrivate Park · 135 acConservation Easement · 30 acLocal Recreation Area · 25 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 30 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 14 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chipman Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 230 | Unknown |
| River Oaks County Park Local Park | County | 211 | Open |
| Hickory Ridge Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 135 | Restricted |
| Myers Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 71 | Unknown |
| Robert Morris Park Local Park | Town or city | 33 | Open |
| Keka Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 33 | Open |
| Eastwood Little League Fields Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 25 | Open |
| Marc's Marsh Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 11 | Unknown |
| Shafter Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
20 places to go in Comstock Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Comstock Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Comstock Township
14 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Comstock Township
2 dog parks without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Comstock Township
Morrow Lake Boat LaunchIn Morrow Lake Public Access
DirectionsPlus 2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
5 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Woodland Trail1.7 mi
Prairie Trail1.3 mi
Savanna Trail1.2 mi
Nursery Trail0.5 mi
Lyons Lake Nature Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
7.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
7.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
18Soccer
16Baseball
11Tennis
3Basketball
1Pickleball
1Football
1Volleyball
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Comstock Township: 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 35 | 46 | 59 | 71 | 80 | 84 | 81 | 74 | 62 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 2.6 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.2 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Comstock Township →
Next door
Comstock Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Charleston Township61 miKalamazoo22 miComstock Township9.4 miRichland Township4.7 miPavilion Township1.8 miKalamazoo Township0.2 miGalesburg0.0 miEastwood0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comstock Township | 4% | 0.3 | 46 | 46% | B |
| Galesburg | 3% | under 0.1 | 15 | 99%+ | B− |
| Kalamazoo Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 3 | 82% | C− |
| Kalamazoo | 9% | 0.9 | 18 | 95% | A |
| Eastwood | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Charleston Township | 3% | 1.8 | 397 | 46% | A− |
| Richland Township | 2% | 0.1 | 12 | 14% | C |
| Pavilion Township | 1% | 0.1 | 22 | 9% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Comstock Township
Where can I hike in Comstock Township?
The longest trail networks: Chipman Preserve, 5 miles; Fred McLinden Nature Trails, 3.2 miles; Merrill Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Comstock Township is conserved land?
4% 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 Comstock Township’s trails?
Chipman Preserve and Fred McLinden Nature Trails don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Comstock Township?
7.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 7.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Comstock Township?
13,887 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Comstock Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 708 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Comstock Township have?
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #390 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 Comstock 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 →