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A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Curtis Township

47% of Curtis Township’s land is conserved: 20,633 acres

559 acres are parks and preserves, 494 per 1,000 residents. 94 miles of mapped trail cross Curtis Township, 1.4 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Huron National Forest (77.9 mi), Alcona Park (1 mi).

Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Conserved land
47%
20,633 acres · of 68.4 sq mi of land
Trails
94 mi
1.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
559 ac
494 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
3%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
15
5 boat launches

What kind of outdoors town is Curtis Township?

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

Land that stays wild47% of the land is conserved; a typical Michigan town, 5%.Room to roam494 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.A trail town1.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 87% of U.S. towns.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Curtis Township have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Curtis Township is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.

A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Curtis Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land47% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (94 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land494 acres of park per 1,000 residents (559 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home3% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 85%
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.

12
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 77.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Huron National Forest

Managed by United States Forest Service
20,622 acres77.9 mi of trail
Shore to Shore TrailAlcona ORV TrailOscoda to Oasis TrailForest Road 4769+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Alcona Park

Managed by Consumers Power Company
544 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it

20,633 conserved acres

47% of Curtis Township’s land. Who manages Curtis Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

U.S. Forest Service20,624 ac
Town or city9 ac
National Forest · 20,624 acLocal Park · 9 ac
The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Huron National Forest
National Forest
U.S. Forest Service20,624Open
Mervyn Field
Local Park
Town or city6Open
Indian Lakes Park
Local Park
Town or city3Open
Things to do

7 places to go in Curtis Township

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

Scenic views in Curtis Township
Au Sable VistaIn Huron National Forest
Directions
Trails & water

12 named trails and 15 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.2 miHorses · 12.4 miUnpaved · 2.3 mi
Shore to Shore Trail9.6 mi
Alcona ORV Trail3.8 mi
Oscoda to Oasis Trail2.2 mi
Limberlost1.8 mi
Forest Road 47691.1 mi
Sherman Trail0.9 mi
Forest Road 49350.7 mi
Forest Road 21370.4 mi
Forest Road 49370.3 mi
Grass Strip Runway0.2 mi
2 more trails
Camp Ten Trail
0.2 mi
Forest Road 2173
0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Alcona Dam PondreservoirBear LakelakeBryant LakelakeCurtis LakelakeHonawan LakelakeHunters LakelakeIndian LakeslakeJenkins LakelakeLittle Bear LakelakeLittle LakelakeNorth LakelakeThompson LakelakeTwin LakelakeVaughn LakelakeAu Sable River
When to get out

The best walking months in Curtis Township: May, June 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.210.411.813.414.815.515.214.012.410.99.58.8
High (°F)273040536676807871574433
Rain (in)1.71.51.73.13.13.23.53.42.83.02.21.9

February is the driest month (1.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 3.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Curtis Township →

Next door

Curtis Township and its neighbors

Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Oscoda Township338 miMentor Township266 miMitchell Township224 miPlainfield Township128 miCurtis Township94 miMillen Township71 miMikado Township54 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Curtis Township47%1.44943%A−
Mikado Township— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Mitchell Township— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Millen Township— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Plainfield Township46%1.216321%A
Oscoda Township65%2.851167%A+
Mentor Township90%1.939138%A

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in Curtis Township

Where can I hike in Curtis Township?

The longest trail networks: Huron National Forest, 77.9 miles; Alcona Park, 1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Curtis Township is conserved land?

47% 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 Curtis Township’s trails?

Huron National Forest and Alcona Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Is there public land near Curtis Township?

280,374 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Curtis Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 21,287 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Curtis Township have?

Ahead of 85% 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 Curtis 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 →