Manistee National Forest - Baldwin Ranger District
Managed by United States Forest Service
1,132 acres2.3 mi of trail
Forest Road 6512Forest Road 6661Forest Road 6514Forest Road 6717+1
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Custer Township
Custer Township has 54 acres of parks, 41 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Manistee National Forest - Baldwin Ranger District (2.3 mi). 6% of Custer Township’s land is conserved, about 1,450 acres. 26% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
1,450 acres · of 34.9 sq mi of land
Trails
6.0 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
54 ac
41 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
26%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
5
3 boat launches
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Custer Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Custer Township is ahead of 52% of U.S. towns. 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 Custer Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land41 acres of park per 1,000 residents (54 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 52%
LessMore
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
The longest trail network is Manistee National Forest - Baldwin Ranger District, with 2.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Riverside Park
Managed by City of Scottville
7 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
1,450 conserved acres
6% of Custer Township’s land. Who manages Custer Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service1,143 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)116 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service110 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits72 ac
Town or city9 ac
National Forest · 1,143 acConservation Easement · 226 acAgricultural Easement · 72 acLocal Park · 9 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 298 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manistee National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 1,143 | Open |
| St. Marys Field Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Custer Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Custer Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Custer Township
Custer Bridge River Access
DirectionsIndian Bridge River Access
DirectionsPlus 1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Trails & water
6 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.2 mi
Aspen0.4 mi
Forest Road 65120.4 mi
Forest Road 66610.3 mi
Forest Road 65140.3 mi
Forest Road 67170.1 mi
Forst Road 66660.1 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
2Baseball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Custer Township: May 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 32 | 42 | 55 | 68 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 58 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 4.1 | 3.2 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.1 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Custer Township →
Next door
Custer Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Branch Township37 miEden Township21 miCuster Township6.0 miAmber Township2.4 miRiverton Township1.8 miSherman Township1.5 miScottville0.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Custer Township | 6% | 0.2 | 41 | 26% | B− |
| Scottville | 2% | 0.1 | 98 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Eden Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Sherman Township | 2% | under 0.1 | 1 | 1% | D |
| Branch Township | 35% | 1.0 | under 1 | under 1% | C+ |
| Amber Township | 2% | 0.1 | 2 | 21% | C− |
| Riverton Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 6 | 4% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Custer Township
Where can I hike in Custer Township?
The longest trail networks: Manistee National Forest - Baldwin Ranger District, 2.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Custer Township is conserved land?
6% 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 Custer Township’s trails?
Manistee National Forest - Baldwin Ranger District and Riverside Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Custer Township?
70,852 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Custer Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 736 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Custer Township have?
Ahead of 52% 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 Custer 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 →