Escanaba River State Forest - Escanaba Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
11,953 acres37.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Minneapolis Shoal Light Station · Photo: US Coast Guard · Public domainBOutdoors
Outdoors in Ford River Township
Ford River Township has 91 miles of mapped trails, 1.4 for every square mile of land
103 acres are parks and preserves, 54 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Escanaba River State Forest - Escanaba Unit (37.9 mi). 21% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 59% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
603 acres · of 64.8 sq mi of land
Trails
91 mi
1.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
103 ac
54 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
21%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
15 mi
3.0 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
6
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Ford River Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ford River Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ford River Township is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ford River Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%C+Trails1.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (91 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land54 acres of park per 1,000 residents (103 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home21% 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 59%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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 Escanaba River State Forest - Escanaba Unit, with 37.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hyde State Roadside Park
Managed by Michigan Department of Transportation
7 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Ford River Township Park
Managed by Ford River Township
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
603 conserved acres
1% of Ford River Township’s land. Who manages Ford River Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources451 ac
Private owners124 ac
Other state land21 ac
State fish & wildlife6 ac
State Conservation Area · 458 acPrivate Park · 124 acConservation Easement · 21 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MNRTF Parcel State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 315 | Restricted |
| Portage Marsh State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 136 | Restricted |
| Highland Golf Club Private Park | Private owners | 124 | Restricted |
| Portage Marsh State Wildilfe Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 6 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Ford River Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Ford River Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Ford River Township
Ford River Mouth Boat LaunchIn Escanaba River State Forest - Escanaba Unit
DirectionsPortage Point Boat Launch
DirectionsPicnic areas in Ford River Township
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 6.5 mi
Felch Grade ORV Route3.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
15 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.0 mi
off-road bike paths
12 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
When to get out
The best walking months in Ford River Township: May and August
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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.4 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 26 | 29 | 38 | 49 | 62 | 72 | 77 | 76 | 68 | 55 | 42 | 31 |
| Rain (in) | 1.5 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 2.2 | 1.7 |
February is the driest month (1.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 3.3 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Ford River Township →
Next door
Ford River Township and its neighbors
Ford River Township has the most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Ford River Township91 miCedarville Township83 miGourley Township37 miBark River Township36 miWells Township21 miEscanaba10 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ford River Township | 1% | 1.4 | 54 | 21% | B |
| Escanaba | 6% | 0.8 | 18 | 84% | A− |
| Bark River Township | under 1% | 0.8 | 84 | 22% | B− |
| Wells Township | 5% | 0.5 | 227 | 48% | B+ |
| Gourley Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Cedarville Township | — 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 Ford River Township
Where can I hike in Ford River Township?
The longest trail networks: Escanaba River State Forest - Escanaba Unit, 37.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ford River Township is conserved land?
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 Ford River Township’s trails?
Escanaba River State Forest - Escanaba Unit and Fuller County Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Ford River Township?
15 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.0 of off-road paths and 12 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Ford River Township?
11,807 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ford River Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 103 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ford River Township have?
Ahead of 59% 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 Ford River 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 →