Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
6,299 acres19.6 mi of trail
Zig Zag Boulevard
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Denton Township
Denton Township has 1,085 acres of parks, 202 for every 1,000 residents
33 miles of mapped trail cross Denton Township, 1.2 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit (19.6 mi). 7% of Denton Township’s land is conserved, about 1,196 acres.
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns · #198 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
1,196 acres · of 26.2 sq mi of land
Trails
33 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,085 ac
202 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
35%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,358 ft
Emery Hill
Lakes & rivers
4
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Denton Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Denton Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Denton Township is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #198 of 701 in Michigan. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Denton Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (33 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land202 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,085 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 80%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 72%
Water is 27% of Denton Township’s area (10 of 36 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 5%.
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 - Roscommon Unit, with 19.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Playhouse
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Denton Township Park
Managed by Denton Township
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
1,196 conserved acres
7% of Denton Township’s land. Water is left out: Denton Township has 26.2 square miles of land and 9.9 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Denton Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners889 ac
Town or city256 ac
Other state land39 ac
State natural resources11 ac
Private Recreation or Education · 776 acLocal Park · 256 acPrivate Park · 113 acConservation Easement · 39 acState Park · 11 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 40 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative Baptist Assn. of MI Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 611 | Open |
| Land Local Park | Town or city | 234 | Open |
| Wolf Creek Lodge Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 164 | Open |
| White Deer Country Club Private Park | Private owners | 113 | Restricted |
| Township of Denton Park Local Park | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Dnr Lakeview Park State Park | State natural resources | 11 | Open |
| Denton Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Trestle Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Denton Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Denton Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Denton Township
Denton Township Park Boat Launch
DirectionsPeaks in Denton Township
Emery Hill1,358 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
4 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.0 mi
Zig Zag Boulevard1.9 mi
Misty Pine Trail0.6 mi
White Fawn Court0.2 mi
Chuck's Trail0.2 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
3Baseball
2Tennis
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Denton Township: July 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 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 31 | 41 | 54 | 68 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 71 | 57 | 43 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 2.4 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 3.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Denton Township →
Next door
Denton Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denton Township | 7% | 1.2 | 202 | 35% | A− |
| Roscommon Township | 13% | 2.4 | 1,488 | 21% | A |
| Backus Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Markey Township | 9% | 0.5 | 533 | 57% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Denton Township
Where can I hike in Denton Township?
The longest trail networks: Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit, 19.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Denton Township is conserved land?
7% 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 Denton Township’s trails?
Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit and Playhouse don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Denton Township?
83,752 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Denton Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,085 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Denton Township have?
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #198 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 Denton 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 →