South Erie Park
Managed by Erie Township
18 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Dwight Burdette · CC BY 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Erie Township
31% of Erie Township’s land is conserved: 4,730 acres
973 acres are parks and preserves, 225 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: South Erie Park (0.8 mi). 16 miles of mapped trail cross Erie Township, 0.7 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns · #152 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
31%
4,730 acres · of 23.9 sq mi of land
Trails
16 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
973 ac
225 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
34%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
1 beach · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Erie Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Erie Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Erie Township is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #152 of 701 in Michigan. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Erie Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land31% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (16 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land225 acres of park per 1,000 residents (973 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home34% 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 84%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 78%
Water is 19% of Erie Township’s area (6 of 30 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 25%.
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 South Erie Park, with 0.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Erie State Game Area
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
2,668 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
4,730 conserved acres
31% of Erie Township’s land. Water is left out: Erie Township has 23.9 square miles of land and 5.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Erie Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife2,590 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits2,197 ac
Other state land1,110 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service308 ac
Private owners221 ac
State natural resources65 ac
Town or city34 ac
State Conservation Area · 2,621 acPrivate Conservation · 2,122 acConservation Easement · 1,185 acNational Wildlife Refuge · 308 acPrivate Park · 221 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 87 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Erie State Game Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 2,590 | Open |
| Erie Marsh Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 2,122 | Restricted |
| Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 308 | Restricted |
| Bay Creek Hunting Club Private Park | Private owners | 221 | Restricted |
| Michigan Natural Resource Trust Fund Parcel Unknown | State natural resources | 34 | Open |
| Erie State Game Area 4 State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 31 | Restricted |
| South Erie Park Local Park | Town or city | 29 | Open |
| Maplewood Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
Things to do
12 places to go in Erie Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Erie Township
Nugent Beach (Private)
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Erie Township
9 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Erie Township
Halfway Creek Boat LaunchIn Erie State Game Area
DirectionsLaunch
DirectionsTrails & water
6 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.3 mi
Black Loop5.4 mi
Green Loop1.4 mi
Yellow1.2 mi
Blue Loop1.1 mi
Purple1.0 mi
Red0.5 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
9Baseball
4Basketball
1Soccer
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Erie 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) | 9.5 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 36 | 46 | 58 | 70 | 80 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 63 | 49 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 3.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Erie Township →
Next door
Erie Township and its neighbors
Erie Township has the second most mapped trails of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erie Township | 31% | 0.7 | 225 | 34% | A− |
| Luna Pier | 26% | under 0.1 | 91 | 99%+ | A− |
| La Salle Township | 2% | under 0.1 | 78 | 4% | C |
| Bedford Township | 3% | 0.3 | 10 | 61% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Erie Township
Where can I hike in Erie Township?
The longest trail networks: South Erie Park, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Erie Township is conserved land?
31% 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 Erie Township’s trails?
South Erie Park and Erie State Game Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Erie Township?
13,442 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Erie Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,007 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Erie Township have?
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #152 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 Erie 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 →