Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
5,972 acres8.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Forest Township
Forest Township has 6,013 acres of parks, 4,698 for every 1,000 residents
27% of Forest Township’s land is conserved, about 5,975 acres. The biggest trail networks: Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit (8.4 mi). 41% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
27%
5,975 acres · of 35.1 sq mi of land
Trails
17 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
6,013 ac
4,698 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
41%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Forest Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Forest Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Forest Township is ahead of 84% 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 Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land27% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (17 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land4,698 acres of park per 1,000 residents (6,013 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 84%
LessMore
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 Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit, with 8.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
5,975 conserved acres
27% of Forest Township’s land. Who manages Forest Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources5,975 ac
State Conservation Area · 5,975 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cadillac State Forest Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 5,975 | Open |
When to get out
The best walking months in Forest 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 30 | 41 | 54 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 71 | 57 | 43 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 2.6 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 3.7 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Forest Township →
Next door
Forest Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Pioneer Township72 miCaldwell Township23 miForest Township17 miWest Branch Township16 miLake City0.4 miReeder Township0.4 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Township | 27% | 0.5 | 4,698 | 41% | A− |
| West Branch Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Lake City | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Caldwell Township | 16% | 0.7 | 2,388 | 43% | A |
| Pioneer Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Reeder Township | 9% | under 0.1 | 2,502 | 15% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Forest Township
Where can I hike in Forest Township?
The longest trail networks: Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit, 8.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Forest Township is conserved land?
27% 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 Township’s trails?
Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Forest Township?
78,798 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Forest Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 6,013 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Forest Township have?
Ahead of 84% 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 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 →