Lake Superior State Forest - Sault Ste. Marie Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
4,483 acres3.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
COutdoors
Outdoors in Dafter Township
Dafter Township has 6.0 miles of mapped trails, 0.1 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Lake Superior State Forest - Sault Ste. Marie Unit (3.2 mi). 5% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 30 acres are parks and preserves, 21 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 27% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
433 acres · of 47.8 sq mi of land
Trails
6.0 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
30 ac
21 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
5%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
3
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Dafter Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Dafter Township is ahead of 27% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Dafter Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4CPark land21 acres of park per 1,000 residents (30 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home5% 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 27%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. 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 Lake Superior State Forest - Sault Ste. Marie Unit, with 3.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Little Leaf Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
36 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
433 conserved acres
1% of Dafter Township’s land. Who manages Dafter Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
USDA easements (NRCS)299 ac
Other state land79 ac
Town or city30 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service26 ac
Conservation Easement · 404 acLocal Park · 30 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 404 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dafter Township Park Local Park | Town or city | 30 | Open |
Trails & water
3 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Dafter Township: May to August
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) | 9.0 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 15.8 | 15.4 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.6 |
| High (°F) | 24 | 26 | 36 | 49 | 64 | 74 | 78 | 76 | 68 | 54 | 41 | 30 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 3.2 | 2.8 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 4.3 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Dafter Township →
Next door
Dafter Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Superior Township119 miKinross Township102 miSoo Township21 miBruce Township8.8 miDafter Township6.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dafter Township | 1% | 0.1 | 21 | 5% | C |
| Bruce Township | 10% | 0.1 | 2,190 | 6% | B |
| Superior Township | 59% | 1.2 | 88 | 14% | A− |
| Kinross Township | 47% | 0.9 | 6 | 3% | B |
| Soo Township | 3% | 0.4 | 167 | 8% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Dafter Township
Where can I hike in Dafter Township?
The longest trail networks: Lake Superior State Forest - Sault Ste. Marie Unit, 3.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Dafter Township is conserved land?
1% 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 Dafter Township’s trails?
Lake Superior State Forest - Sault Ste. Marie Unit and Little Leaf Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Dafter Township?
40,196 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Dafter Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 30 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Dafter Township have?
Ahead of 27% 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 Dafter 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 →