MK Conklin Park
Managed by Clinton Township
20 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Larry Pieniazek, Lar (commons) or User:Lar (wikipedia) · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Croton Township
Croton Township has 173 acres of parks, 50 for every 1,000 residents
11% of Croton Township’s land is conserved, about 2,295 acres. 27 miles of mapped trail cross Croton Township, 0.8 per square mile of land. 26% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns · #261 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
11%
2,295 acres · of 33.7 sq mi of land
Trails
27 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
173 ac
50 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
26%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
5
2 beaches · 3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Croton Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Croton Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Croton Township is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns, #261 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 Croton Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (27 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land50 acres of park per 1,000 residents (173 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 73%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 63%
Water is 7% of Croton Township’s area (3 of 36 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 10%.
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 MK Conklin Park, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Bills Lake Public Access
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
2,295 conserved acres
11% of Croton Township’s land. Water is left out: Croton Township has 33.7 square miles of land and 2.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Croton Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service2,151 ac
Town or city143 ac
National Forest · 2,151 acLocal Recreation Area · 69 acLocal Park · 39 acLocal Conservation Area · 36 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manistee National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 2,151 | Open |
| Camp Calvary Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 69 | Open |
| Sailors Virgin Pine Forest Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 36 | Open |
| Croton Township Park Local Park | Town or city | 26 | Open |
| Kimble Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Conklin Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Croton Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Croton Township
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Croton Township
Bills Lake Public Boat LaunchIn Bills Lake Public Access
DirectionsCharles Besemer Muskegon River Park Boat LaunchIn Charles Besemer Muskegon River Park
DirectionsPine Street Boat Launch
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 9.3 mi
North Country National Scenic Trail1.5 mi
Forest Road 92320.4 mi
Wren0.3 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
4Tennis
1Baseball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Croton Hydroelectric PlantStructure · listed 1979
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Croton Township: June 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) | 9.3 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 44 | 57 | 69 | 79 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 3.8 | 3.1 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.8 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Croton Township →
Next door
Croton Township and its neighbors
Croton Township has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Big Prairie Township44 miCroton Township27 miBrooks Township27 miReynolds Township8.6 miEnsley Township3.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croton Township | 11% | 0.8 | 50 | 26% | B+ |
| Big Prairie Township | 19% | 1.4 | 264 | 41% | A |
| Ensley Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 2 | 7% | D |
| Brooks Township | 25% | 0.9 | 222 | 48% | A |
| Reynolds Township | 10% | 0.2 | 105 | 54% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Croton Township
Where can I hike in Croton Township?
The longest trail networks: MK Conklin Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Croton Township is conserved land?
11% 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 Croton Township’s trails?
MK Conklin Park and Pine Street Access don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Croton Township?
38,377 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Croton Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,335 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Croton Township have?
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #261 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 Croton 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 →