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Franklin Township Hall, Houghton County, MIPhoto: Chris857 · CC BY-SA 4.0
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Franklin Township

Franklin Township has 691 acres of parks, 386 for every 1,000 residents

19 miles of mapped trail cross Franklin Township, 1.0 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Boston Creek Nature Area (0.8 mi). 5% of Franklin Township’s land is conserved, about 658 acres.

Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Conserved land
5%
658 acres · of 19.9 sq mi of land
Trails
19 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
691 ac
386 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
51%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,220 ft
Arcadian Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
4 boat launches

What kind of outdoors town is Franklin Township?

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

Room to roam386 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 79% of U.S. towns.History along the way3 places on the National Register.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Franklin Township have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Franklin Township is ahead of 80% 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 Franklin Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (19 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land386 acres of park per 1,000 residents (691 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home51% 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 80%
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.

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 Boston Creek Nature Area, with 0.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Boston Creek Nature Area

Managed by Keweenaw Land Trust
40 acres0.8 mi of trail
Boston Creek Nature Area Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Paavola Wetlands Nature Area

Managed by Keweenaw Land Trust
201 acres0.4 mi of trail
Bramble Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗

Copper Country State Forest- Baraga Unit

Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
79 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet

Boston Woods Nature Area

Managed by Keweenaw Land Trust
41 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 7 parks & preserves
Boston Creek Nature Area40 acres · 0.8 mi of trail · Keweenaw Land Trust
Directions
Paavola Wetlands Nature Area201 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Keweenaw Land Trust
Directions
Copper Country State Forest- Baraga Unit79 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Boston Pond Nature Area37 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Keweenaw Land Trust
Boston Woods Nature Area41 acres · Keweenaw Land Trust
Keweenaw National Historical Park Quincy Unit25 acres
Memorial Airport Park1 acres
Directions
Who protects it

658 conserved acres

5% of Franklin Township’s land. Who manages Franklin Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

Land trusts & nonprofits356 ac
County225 ac
National Park Service90 ac
State natural resources83 ac
Town or city17 ac
Private Conservation · 356 acLocal Resource Management Area · 113 acLocal Conservation Area · 113 acHistoric or Cultural Area · 90 acState Conservation Area · 83 ac
The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Paavola Wetlands Preserve
Private Conservation
Land trusts & nonprofits356Open
Local Forest
Local Resource Management Area
County225Open
Keweenaw National Historical Park
Historic or Cultural Area
National Park Service90Restricted
Baraga State Forest Area
State Conservation Area
State natural resources83Open
City of Hancock Park
Local Park
Town or city17Open
Things to do

7 places to go in Franklin Township

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

Boat launches in Franklin Township
Boston Pond Boat LaunchIn Copper Country State Forest- Baraga Unit
Directions
Houghton-hancock Marina Boat Launch
Directions
U.S. Coast Guard - Station Portage
Directions

Plus 1 boat launch without a name on the map.

Trails & water

6 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.5 miUnpaved · 9.6 mi
ST-33.1 mi
Boston Creek Nature Area Trail0.8 mi
Surfs Up0.3 mi
Big Diesel0.3 mi
Twist It0.2 mi
Bramble Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Boston LakelakePortage Canal
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.

Jack Stevens TrailBike route
5.3 mi
Lake Linden TrailBike route
3.1 mi
Surfs UpBike route
0.3 mi
Big DieselBike route
0.3 mi
Courts & fields
1Basketball

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

History along the way

3 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 7 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.

History →
★
Quincy Mining Company Historic DistrictNational Historic Landmark · District · listed 1989
About it
Quincy Mine No. 2 Shaft Hoist HouseBuilding · listed 1970
About it
Keweenaw National Historical ParkDistrict · listed 1972
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in Franklin 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)8.910.211.813.515.115.915.514.212.510.89.38.5
High (°F)222636486372777568533928
Rain (in)2.01.31.42.33.03.13.22.93.43.32.21.7

February is the driest month (1.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 3.4 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Franklin Township →

Next door

Franklin Township and its neighbors

Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Portage Township168 miOsceola Township42 miHancock Township31 miHoughton20 miFranklin Township19 miQuincy Township16 miHancock12 miDollar Bay4.1 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Franklin Township5%1.038651%A−
Osceola Township1%1.714671%A−
Hancock10%4.14099%+A+
Dollar Bay— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Houghton20%4.46599%+A+
Quincy Township— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Hancock Township— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Portage Township18%1.53,53451%A

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

Questions about parks and trails in Franklin Township

Where can I hike in Franklin Township?

The longest trail networks: Boston Creek Nature Area, 0.8 miles; Paavola Wetlands Nature Area, 0.4 miles; Copper Country State Forest- Baraga Unit, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Franklin Township is conserved land?

5% 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 Franklin Township’s trails?

Boston Creek Nature Area and Paavola Wetlands Nature Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Is there public land near Franklin Township?

11,044 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Franklin Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 691 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Franklin 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 Franklin 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 →