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Henry Richardi HouseHenry Richardi House · Photo: Dkanaris · CC BY-SA 3.0
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Forest Home Township

Forest Home Township has 827 acres of parks, 467 for every 1,000 residents

46 miles of mapped trail cross Forest Home Township, 1.9 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Glacial Hills Pathway and Natural Area (37.3 mi), Torch Lake Nature Preserve (2.3 mi). 7% of Forest Home Township’s land is conserved, about 1,147 acres.

Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Conserved land
7%
1,147 acres · of 24.2 sq mi of land
Trails
46 mi
1.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
827 ac
467 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
41%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
3
1 beach · 4 boat launches

What kind of outdoors town is Forest Home Township?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Room to roam467 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.A trail town1.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 93% of U.S. towns.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Forest Home Township have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Forest Home Township is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.

A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Forest Home Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (46 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land467 acres of park per 1,000 residents (827 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home41% 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 86%
LessMore

Water is 28% of Forest Home Township’s area (9 of 34 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 5%.

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.

1234
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 Glacial Hills Pathway and Natural Area, with 37.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Glacial Hills Pathway and Natural Area

Park
814 acres37.3 mi of trail
GH #81-#82 LongGH #80-#82GH #11-#12GH #70-#72 Long+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Glacial Hills Eckhardt Rd TrailheadWebsite ↗

Torch Lake Nature Preserve

Managed by Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy
100 acres2.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Grass River Natural Area

Nature preserve
163 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet

Loon Nursery

Managed by Forest Home Township
30 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 7 parks & preserves
Glacial Hills Pathway and Natural Area814 acres · 37.3 mi of trail
Directions
Torch Lake Nature Preserve100 acres · 2.3 mi of trail · Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy
Directions
Grass River Natural Area163 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Loon Nursery30 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Forest Home Township
Directions
Richardi Park7 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Directions
Torch Lake Public Water Acces Site1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Forest Home Township
Directions
Golden-Days Loon Nature Sanctuary14 acres · Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy
Directions
Who protects it

1,147 conserved acres

7% of Forest Home Township’s land. Water is left out: Forest Home Township has 24.2 square miles of land and 9.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Forest Home Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

Land trusts & nonprofits1,113 ac
Other state land31 ac
Town or city4 ac
Unknown Easement · 761 acLocal Conservation Area · 337 acConservation Easement · 31 acPrivate Conservation · 15 acLocal Park · 4 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 790 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Grass River Natural Area
Local Conservation Area
Land trusts & nonprofits337Closed
Golden Days Loon Preserve
Private Conservation
Land trusts & nonprofits15Closed
Richardi Park
Local Park
Town or city4Open
Things to do

9 places to go in Forest Home Township

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Boat launches in Forest Home Township
Ohio Street Boat Launch
Directions
River Street Boat Launch
Directions

Plus 2 boat launches without a name on the map.

Trails & water

25 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Open to bikes · 36.5 miUnpaved · 31.9 mi
GH #81-#82 Long2.4 mi
GH #80-#822.1 mi
GH #11-#120.9 mi
GH #70-#72 Long0.8 mi
GH #12-#290.8 mi
GH #80-#810.7 mi
GH #41-#420.7 mi
GH #45-#460.7 mi
GH #40-#410.6 mi
GH #29-#300.6 mi
15 more trails
GH #30-#31
0.6 mi
GH #49-#50 Long
0.6 mi
GH Orchard Trailhead to #50
0.6 mi
GH #23-#26
0.5 mi
GH #9-#19
0.5 mi
GH #41-#43
0.5 mi
GH #22-#23
0.5 mi
GH #76-#77
0.5 mi
GH #24-#32
0.5 mi
GH #44-#46
0.5 mi
GH #18-#22
0.5 mi
GH #71-#76
0.4 mi
GH #33-#44
0.4 mi
GH #12-#25
0.4 mi
GH #43-#47
0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Lake BellairelakeClam RiverGrass River
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.

Outer LoopBike route
18.6 mi
Emergency Access (Public)Bike route
7.7 mi
Winter LoopBike route
6.6 mi
Never LandBike route
5.2 mi
Rolling HillsBike route
4.8 mi
Deer RunBike route
3.6 mi
West ValleyBike route
3.1 mi
Bear DenBike route
2.9 mi
Courts & fields
7Tennis
6Soccer
3Basketball
1Football
1Pickleball
1Skate park
1Beach volleyball

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

2 places on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).

History →
Henry Richardi HouseBuilding · listed 1978
About it
M-88-Intermediate River BridgeStructure · listed 1999
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in Forest Home Township: May to 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.110.311.813.414.815.615.314.112.510.99.58.8
High (°F)283040536676807971584434
Rain (in)2.31.51.83.03.23.12.83.13.74.32.92.5

February is the driest month (1.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.3 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Forest Home Township →

Next door

Forest Home Township and its neighbors

Forest Home Township has the most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Forest Home Township46 miCuster Township41 miKearney Township30 miMilton Township17 miHelena Township13 miTorch Lake Township7.7 miCentral Lake Township5.4 miBellaire1.3 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Forest Home Township7%1.946741%A
Kearney Township11%0.913642%A−
Helena Township— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Custer Township4%1.2485%B
Bellaire4%0.77194%A
Torch Lake Township4%0.516325%B
Milton Township2%0.723515%B
Central Lake Township3%0.222651%B

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in Forest Home Township

Where can I hike in Forest Home Township?

The longest trail networks: Glacial Hills Pathway and Natural Area, 37.3 miles; Torch Lake Nature Preserve, 2.3 miles; Grass River Natural Area, 0.1 miles; Loon Nursery, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Forest Home Township is conserved land?

7% 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 Forest Home Township’s trails?

Glacial Hills Pathway and Natural Area and Torch Lake Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Is there public land near Forest Home Township?

7,707 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Forest Home Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 827 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Forest Home Township have?

Ahead of 86% 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 Forest Home Township neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →