Robert Bolen Memorial Park
Managed by City of East Tawas
14 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in East Tawas
East Tawas has 107 acres of parks, 40 for every 1,000 residents
1.3 miles of mapped trail cross East Tawas, 0.5 per square mile of land. 75% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3% of East Tawas’ land is conserved, about 55 acres.
Ahead of 69% of U.S. towns · #299 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
55 acres · of 2.8 sq mi of land
Trails
1.3 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
107 ac
40 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
75%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.4 mi
1.4 mi paths
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does East Tawas have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, East Tawas is ahead of 69% of U.S. towns, #299 of 701 in Michigan. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, conserved land lowest.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of East Tawas’ overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land40 acres of park per 1,000 residents (107 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home75% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 69%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 57%
Water is 14% of East Tawas’ area (0 of 3 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 3%.
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 Robert Bolen Memorial Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Dewey Durant Park
Managed by City of East Tawas
63 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
East Tawas City Park
Managed by City of East Tawas
16 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Harbor Park
Managed by City of East Tawas
6 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 7 parks & preserves
Robert Bolen Memorial Park14 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · City of East Tawas
DirectionsDewey Durant Park63 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · City of East Tawas
DirectionsEast Tawas City Park16 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · City of East Tawas
DirectionsHarbor Park6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of East Tawas
DirectionsEast Tawas Great Lakes Public Access4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsTom Dillon Park2 acres · City of East Tawas
Tawas Lake Public Access1 acres · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsWho protects it
55 conserved acres
3% of East Tawas’ land. Water is left out: East Tawas has 2.8 square miles of land and 0.5 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages East Tawas’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city48 ac
Private owners5 ac
Other state land2 ac
Local Park · 48 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 5 acConservation Easement · 2 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dewey Durant Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 31 | Open |
| Robert C. Bolen Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Tawas Beach Club Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 5 | Restricted |
| East Tawas City Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Harbor Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Tom Dillon Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
9 places to go in East Tawas
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in East Tawas
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in East Tawas
4 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in East Tawas
Tawas Lake Boat LaunchIn Tawas Lake Public Access
DirectionsPlus 2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Biking & sports
1.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Tawas Bay Bike TrailBike route
0.4 miCourts & fields
6Baseball
4Tennis
2Basketball
2Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in East Tawas: May, June, August 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 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 32 | 40 | 52 | 64 | 75 | 80 | 78 | 71 | 58 | 45 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 3.4 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in East Tawas →
Next door
East Tawas and its neighbors
East Tawas has the second most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Tawas | 3% | 0.5 | 40 | 75% | B+ |
| Baldwin Township | 15% | 0.8 | 122 | 20% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in East Tawas
Where can I hike in East Tawas?
The longest trail networks: Robert Bolen Memorial Park, 0.3 miles; Dewey Durant Park, 0.2 miles; East Tawas City Park, 0.2 miles; Harbor Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of East Tawas is conserved land?
3% 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 East Tawas’ trails?
Robert Bolen Memorial Park and Dewey Durant Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in East Tawas?
1.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.4 of off-road paths. Named routes: Tawas Bay Bike Trail.
Is there public land near East Tawas?
47,679 acres of parks and open public land lie inside East Tawas or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 107 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does East Tawas have?
Ahead of 69% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #299 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 East Tawas 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 →