Maple River State Game Area
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
1,201 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Essex Township
Essex Township has 1,202 acres of parks, 648 for every 1,000 residents
1.1 miles of mapped trail cross Essex Township. 40% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5% of Essex Township’s land is conserved, about 1,191 acres.
Ahead of 53% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
1,191 acres · of 35.4 sq mi of land
Trails
1.1 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,202 ac
648 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
40%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Essex Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Essex Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Essex Township is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Essex Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land648 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,202 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home40% 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 53%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C 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 Maple River State Game Area, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Maple Rapids Memorial Ball Fields
Managed by Village of Maple Rapids
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Maple Rapids Village Park and Community Center
Managed by Village of Maple Rapids
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
1,191 conserved acres
5% of Essex Township’s land. Who manages Essex Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife1,177 ac
Town or city14 ac
State Conservation Area · 1,177 acLocal Park · 10 acLocal Other or Unknown · 4 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maple River State Game Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 1,177 | Open |
| Maple Rapids Memorial Ballfields Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Old School Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Maple Rapids Village Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Essex Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Essex Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 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
3Baseball
2Tennis
1Basketball
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Essex 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) | 9.3 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 44 | 57 | 69 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 61 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 2.8 | 3.2 | 2.6 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 3.8 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Essex Township →
Next door
Essex 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essex Township | 5% | under 0.1 | 648 | 40% | B− |
| Greenbush Township | 1% | 0.2 | 148 | 15% | C+ |
| Lebanon Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Fulton Township | 9% | under 0.1 | 799 | 59% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Essex Township
Where can I hike in Essex Township?
The longest trail networks: Maple River State Game Area, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Essex Township is conserved land?
5% 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 Essex Township’s trails?
Maple River State Game Area and Maple Rapids Memorial Ball Fields don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Essex Township?
11,447 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Essex Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,202 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Essex Township have?
Ahead of 53% 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 Essex 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 →