Wild Fowl Bay State Wildlife Area
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
15,145 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Bay Port Historic Commercial Fishing District · Photo: Michigan History Dividion · Public domainA−Outdoors
Outdoors in Fairhaven Township
Fairhaven Township has 1,905 acres of parks, 1,618 for every 1,000 residents
17% of Fairhaven Township’s land is conserved, about 2,362 acres. 2.9 miles of mapped trail cross Fairhaven Township, 0.1 per square mile of land. 70% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
17%
2,362 acres · of 21.4 sq mi of land
Trails
2.9 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,905 ac
1,618 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
70%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Fairhaven Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Fairhaven Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Fairhaven Township is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Fairhaven Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land17% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land1,618 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,905 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home70% 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 80%
LessMore
Water is more than half of Fairhaven Township’s area (119 of 141 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Saginaw Wetlands Nature Sanctuary
Managed by Michigan Nature Association
141 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Bay Port Boating Access Site
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
9 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
B.C. McLeish Memorial Park
Managed by Fairhaven Township
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 6 parks & preserves
Wild Fowl Bay State Wildlife Area15,145 acres · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsSaginaw Wetlands Nature Sanctuary141 acres · Michigan Nature Association
Bay Port Boating Access Site9 acres · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsB.C. McLeish Memorial Park4 acres · Fairhaven Township
DirectionsSanford Brown Roadside Park3 acres · Michigan Department of Transportation
Bayside Estates Park1 acres
Who protects it
2,362 conserved acres
17% of Fairhaven Township’s land. Water is left out: Fairhaven Township has 21.4 square miles of land and 119.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Fairhaven Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife2,314 ac
Other state land43 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits5 ac
State Conservation Area · 2,314 acConservation Easement · 48 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 48 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wildfowl Bay State Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 2,314 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Fairhaven Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Fairhaven Township
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Fairhaven Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Fairhaven Township
Bay Port Public Boat Launch
DirectionsSumac Island Boat LaunchIn Wild Fowl Bay State Wildlife Area
DirectionsWild Fowl Bay State Wildlife Area Boat LaunchIn Wild Fowl Bay State Wildlife Area
DirectionsBiking & 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
2Basketball
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Bay Port Historic Commercial Fishing DistrictDistrict · listed 1977
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Fairhaven Township: May 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) | 9.3 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 32 | 41 | 53 | 66 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 72 | 59 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 2.3 | 1.8 |
February is the driest month (1.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 3.3 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Fairhaven Township →
Next door
Fairhaven Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Caseville Township13 miMcKinley Township4.6 miFairhaven Township2.9 miWinsor Township2.3 miBay Port0.7 miSebewaing Township0.3 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairhaven Township | 17% | 0.1 | 1,618 | 70% | A− |
| Sebewaing Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 17 | 66% | C |
| Winsor Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 15 | 65% | C |
| McKinley Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Caseville Township | 6% | 1.0 | 118 | 47% | A− |
| Bay Port | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Fairhaven Township
How much of Fairhaven Township is conserved land?
17% 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 Fairhaven Township’s trails?
Wild Fowl Bay State Wildlife Area and Saginaw Wetlands Nature Sanctuary don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Fairhaven Township?
7,713 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Fairhaven Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,905 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Fairhaven Township have?
Ahead of 80% 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 Fairhaven 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 →