Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
1,309 acres1.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Deep River Township
Deep River Township has 223 acres of parks, 96 for every 1,000 residents
30 miles of mapped trail cross Deep River Township, 0.8 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit (1.7 mi). 35% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
487 acres · of 35.3 sq mi of land
Trails
30 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
223 ac
96 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
35%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Deep River Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Deep River Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Deep River Township is ahead of 64% 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 Deep River Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (30 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land96 acres of park per 1,000 residents (223 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home35% 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 64%
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.
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 Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit, with 1.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
487 conserved acres
2% of Deep River Township’s land. Who manages Deep River Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners239 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits94 ac
Town or city81 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)41 ac
Other state land16 ac
State natural resources15 ac
Private Recreation or Education · 269 acConservation Easement · 106 acLocal Park · 81 acState Conservation Area · 30 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 106 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| School District Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 86 | Open |
| Village of Sterling Park Local Park | Town or city | 81 | Open |
| Standish-Sterling Comm. School Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 66 | Open |
| Outdoor Adventures Wilderness Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 45 | Open |
| Boy Scouts of America Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 42 | Open |
| 4-H Club Private Recreation or Education | Land trusts & nonprofits | 30 | Open |
| Forest Reserve State Conservation Area | Other state land | 16 | Open |
| MNRTF Parcel State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 15 | Restricted |
Things to do
2 places to go in Deep River Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Campgrounds in Deep River Township
2 campgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Talaga Trail0.8 mi
Gaslight Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.1 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
7Baseball
2Football
2Tennis
2Soccer
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Deep River Township: July 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.
| 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 | 82 | 80 | 72 | 59 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 1.8 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 1.8 |
February is the driest month (1.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.5 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Deep River Township →
Next door
Deep River Township and its neighbors
Deep River Township has the second most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Adams Township58 miDeep River Township30 miClayton Township18 miMason Township13 miArenac Township12 miLincoln Township2.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deep River Township | 2% | 0.8 | 96 | 35% | B |
| Adams Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Lincoln Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Arenac Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Clayton Township | 3% | 0.6 | 687 | 24% | B |
| Mason Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Deep River Township
Where can I hike in Deep River Township?
The longest trail networks: Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit, 1.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Deep River Township is conserved land?
2% 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 Deep River Township’s trails?
Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Deep River Township?
0.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Deep River Township?
18,287 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Deep River Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 223 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Deep River Township have?
Ahead of 64% 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 Deep River 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 →