Oak Ridge Park
Managed by Eaton Rapids Parks Department
24 acres1 mi of trail
Trillium TrailOak TrailPine Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Island City Historic District · Photo: Catherine Ottarson · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Eaton Rapids
Eaton Rapids has 67 acres of parks, 13 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Oak Ridge Park (1 mi). 88% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2% of Eaton Rapids’ land is conserved, about 39 acres.
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns · #385 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
39 acres · of 3.6 sq mi of land
Trails
1.6 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
67 ac
13 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
88%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.2 mi
0.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Eaton Rapids?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Eaton Rapids have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Eaton Rapids is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns, #385 of 701 in Michigan. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Eaton Rapids’ overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land13 acres of park per 1,000 residents (67 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home88% 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 58%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 45%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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 Oak Ridge Park, with 1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Island City Dog Park
Managed by City of Eaton Rapids
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
McArthur Park
Park
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 9 parks & preserves
Oak Ridge Park24 acres · 1 mi of trail · Eaton Rapids Parks Department
DirectionsHowe Field24 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsMill Pointe Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Eaton
DirectionsIsland City Dog Park5 acres · City of Eaton Rapids
DirectionsMcArthur Park5 acres
Island Park1 acres
DirectionsRails End Park1 acres · City of Eaton Rapids
Biggs Park1 acres · City of Eaton Rapids
Hall Street Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
39 conserved acres
2% of Eaton Rapids’ land. Who manages Eaton Rapids’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city37 ac
Other state land1 ac
Local Park · 37 acConservation Easement · 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Howe Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 25 | Open |
| Mcarthur River Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| J.B. Bradley Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Biggs Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Island Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Island City Dog Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Scott Munn Riverwalk Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Hall Street Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Mill Point Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
12 places to go in Eaton Rapids
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Eaton Rapids
10 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Eaton Rapids
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Eaton Rapids
McArthur Park Launch
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.1 mi
Trillium Trail0.4 mi
Oak Trail0.3 mi
Pine Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
9Baseball
8Tennis
4Pickleball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Eaton Rapids: 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 45 | 58 | 70 | 79 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 61 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.0 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Eaton Rapids →
Next door
Eaton Rapids and its neighbors
Eaton Rapids has the most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eaton Rapids | 2% | 0.4 | 13 | 88% | B |
| Hamlin Township | 2% | under 0.1 | 9 | 11% | C− |
| Eaton Rapids Township | 2% | under 0.1 | 3 | 9% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Eaton Rapids
Where can I hike in Eaton Rapids?
The longest trail networks: Oak Ridge Park, 1 miles; Howe Field, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Eaton Rapids 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 Eaton Rapids’ trails?
Oak Ridge Park and Howe Field don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Eaton Rapids?
0.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Eaton Rapids?
3,722 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Eaton Rapids or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 67 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Eaton Rapids have?
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #385 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 Eaton Rapids 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 →