Upper Brace Lake Public Access
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Eckford Township
Eckford Township has 64 acres of parks, 48 for every 1,000 residents
0.6 miles of mapped trail cross Eckford Township. 20% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 22% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
19 acres · of 35.4 sq mi of land
Trails
0.6 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
64 ac
48 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
20%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Eckford Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Eckford Township is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Eckford Township’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land48 acres of park per 1,000 residents (64 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home20% 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 22%
LessMore
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Eckford Township. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
19 conserved acres
under 1% of Eckford Township’s land. Who manages Eckford Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land18 ac
Town or city1 ac
Conservation Easement · 18 acLocal Conservation Area · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brooks Natural Area Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Eckford Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Eckford Township
Upper Brace Lake Boat Launch
DirectionsTrails & water
2 lakes & rivers
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
1Basketball
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Eckford 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.2 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 45 | 58 | 70 | 79 | 83 | 80 | 74 | 61 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 2.8 | 2.3 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.1 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Eckford Township →
Next door
Eckford Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Albion Township18 miMarshall12 miMarengo Township0.8 miEckford Township0.6 miFredonia Township0.2 miClarendon Township0.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eckford Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 48 | 20% | C− |
| Marshall | 13% | 1.3 | 90 | 84% | A |
| Fredonia Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 107 | 4% | C− |
| Albion Township | 4% | 0.5 | 216 | 9% | B |
| Marengo Township | 1% | under 0.1 | under 1 | 6% | D |
| Clarendon Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 7 | under 1% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Eckford Township
How much of Eckford Township is conserved land?
under 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 Eckford Township’s trails?
Upper Brace Lake Public Access doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Eckford Township?
1,687 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Eckford Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 64 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Eckford Township have?
Ahead of 22% 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 Eckford 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 →