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Gwinn Model Town Historic DistrictGwinn Model Town Historic District · Photo: Andrew Jameson · CC BY-SA 3.0
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Forsyth Township

Forsyth Township has 2,018 acres of parks, 323 for every 1,000 residents

186 miles of mapped trail cross Forsyth Township, 1.0 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Escanaba River State Forest - Gwinn Unit (South) (85.3 mi), Little Trout Lake Park (2.1 mi), Silver Lead Creek Greenway (0.5 mi). 1% of Forsyth Township’s land is conserved, about 1,479 acres.

Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns · #282 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

Conserved land
1%
1,479 acres · of 177.8 sq mi of land
Trails
186 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,018 ac
323 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
54%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
57
1 beach · 9 boat launches

What kind of outdoors town is Forsyth Township?

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

Room to roam323 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.A trail town1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 81% of U.S. towns.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Forsyth Township have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Forsyth Township is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns, #282 of 701 in Michigan. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.

B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Forsyth Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%CTrails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (186 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land323 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,018 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home54% 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 71%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 60%
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 Escanaba River State Forest - Gwinn Unit (South), with 85.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Escanaba River State Forest - Gwinn Unit (South)

Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
60,250 acres85.3 mi of trail
County Road EjaCounty Road EbCounty Road EEM
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Little Trout Lake Park

Managed by Marquette County
241 acres2.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Silver Lead Creek Greenway

Managed by Marquette County
163 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Farquar-Metsa Tourist Park

Managed by Forsyth Township
18 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 11 parks & preserves
Escanaba River State Forest - Gwinn Unit (South)60,250 acres · 85.3 mi of trail · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Directions
Little Trout Lake Park241 acres · 2.1 mi of trail · Marquette County
Directions
Silver Lead Creek Greenway163 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Marquette County
Directions
Farquar-Metsa Tourist Park18 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Forsyth Township
Forsyth Township Ball Park17 acres · Forsyth Township
Big Shag Lake Public Access9 acres · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Johnson Lake Public Access5 acres · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Peter Nordeen Park3 acres
Little Shag Lake Public Access3 acres · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Copper Country State Forest - Crystal Falls Unit1 acres · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Bass Lake Public Access1 acres · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Directions
Who protects it

1,479 conserved acres

1% of Forsyth Township’s land. Who manages Forsyth Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

Private owners1,202 ac
Town or city267 ac
Other state land7 ac
State natural resources3 ac
Private Park · 667 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 535 acLocal Conservation Area · 267 acConservation Easement · 7 acState Conservation Area · 3 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 7 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Sampo Hunting Club
Private Park
Private owners667Open
Forsyth Deer Lodge
Private Recreation or Education
Private owners314Open
Forsyth Township
Local Conservation Area
Town or city267Open
Peninsula Waters Girl Scout Council
Private Recreation or Education
Private owners105Open
Upper Peninsula Bible Camp
Private Recreation or Education
Private owners72Open
Camp Wolverine
Private Recreation or Education
Private owners44Open
Crystal Falls State Forest Area
State Conservation Area
State natural resources3Open
Things to do

20 places to go in Forsyth Township

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

Boat launches in Forsyth Township
Anderson Lake East Boat Launch
Directions
Anderson Lake West Sfcg Boat Launch
Directions
Big Shag Lake Boat Launch
Directions
Johnson Lake Boat LaunchIn Johnson Lake Public Access
Directions
Little Lake Sfcg Boat LaunchIn Escanaba River State Forest - Gwinn Unit (South)
Directions
Little Shag Lake Boat LaunchIn Little Shag Lake Public Access
Directions
Pike Lake Sfcg Boat LaunchIn Escanaba River State Forest - Gwinn Unit (South)
Directions

Plus 2 boat launches without a name on the map.

Trails & water

7 named trails and 55 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Unpaved · 12.2 mi
County Road Eb1.4 mi
Fire Tower Trail0.8 mi
County Road EEM0.7 mi
County Road EEK0.7 mi
County Road Eja0.6 mi
County Road Exx0.2 mi
Avenue C0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Anderson LakeBass LakeBeauyan LakeBeltrame LakelakeBertraud LakeBilsky LakeBlue LakeBobs LakeBrown LakeCameron LakeCataract BasinCrooked LakeDollar LakeDuck LakelakeFarmer LakeFarquar LakeGimse LakeGravels PondGreenier LakeGrimm LakelakeGwinn Sewage PondspondHay Wire LakelakeHorseshoe LakeIrene LakeJohnson LakeLandon LakeLittle LakeLittle Shag LakeLittle Trout LakeMacgregor LakeMartin LakeMehl LakelakeMiller LakeMoccasin LakelakeMorbit LakeMud LakeNoren LakeNorthwestern LakePerch LakePike LakelakePine LakelakeProvost LakeRice LakeShag LakeSleighrunner LakelakeSlough LakeSpring LakeStump LakelakeSwanzy LakeThree LakeEast Branch Chocolay RiverEast Branch Escanaba RiverEscanaba RiverMiddle Branch Escanaba RiverWest Branch Escanaba 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.

Courts & fields
7Tennis
6Baseball
2Softball
1Football

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

History along the way

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.

History →
Gwinn Model Town Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2002
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in Forsyth 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.010.311.813.515.015.815.414.112.510.89.38.6
High (°F)242838506575797769554029
Rain (in)1.71.41.72.73.23.53.73.03.73.62.42.0

February is the driest month (1.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 3.7 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Forsyth Township →

Next door

Forsyth Township and its neighbors

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

Forsyth Township186 miSands Township162 miWells Township119 miWest Branch Township75 miTilden Township39 miSkandia Township19 miRichmond Township16 miWest Branch Township10 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Forsyth Township1%1.032354%B+
Sands Townshipunder 1%2.422656%B+
Richmond Township— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Skandia Township— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
West Branch Townshipunder 1%0.35450%C+
Tilden Township10%0.45,0956%B+
Wells Township— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
West Branch 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 Forsyth Township

Where can I hike in Forsyth Township?

The longest trail networks: Escanaba River State Forest - Gwinn Unit (South), 85.3 miles; Little Trout Lake Park, 2.1 miles; Silver Lead Creek Greenway, 0.5 miles; Farquar-Metsa Tourist Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Forsyth 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 Forsyth Township’s trails?

Escanaba River State Forest - Gwinn Unit (South) and Little Trout Lake Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Is there public land near Forsyth Township?

78,151 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Forsyth Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,018 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Forsyth Township have?

Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #282 of 701 in Michigan. 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 Forsyth 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 →