Hidden Lake Gardens
Managed by Michigan State University
742 acres8.9 mi of trail
Pine Tree TrailKettlehole TrailSassafras TrailHiker's Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
John W. and Erena Alexander Rogers Keeney Farm · Photo: Notorious4life · Public domainBOutdoors
Outdoors in Franklin Township
Franklin Township has 913 acres of parks, 300 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Hidden Lake Gardens (8.9 mi), W. J. Hayes State Park (1.1 mi), Taylor Roadside Park (1.1 mi). 22% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3% of Franklin Township’s land is conserved, about 859 acres.
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns · #388 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
859 acres · of 38.3 sq mi of land
Trails
13 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
913 ac
300 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
22%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
6
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Franklin Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
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 57% of U.S. towns, #388 of 701 in Michigan. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Franklin Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (13 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land300 acres of park per 1,000 residents (913 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home22% 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 57%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 45%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. 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 Hidden Lake Gardens, with 8.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
W. J. Hayes State Park
Park
192 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Sand Lake Public Access
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
859 conserved acres
3% of Franklin Township’s land. Who manages Franklin Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land644 ac
State parks194 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service21 ac
State Conservation Area · 644 acState Park · 194 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hidden Lake Gardens State Conservation Area | Other state land | 644 | Open |
| Hayes State Park State Park | State parks | 194 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Franklin Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Franklin Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Franklin Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Franklin Township
Hayes-ModernIn W. J. Hayes State Park
DirectionsHayes-ModernIn W. J. Hayes State Park
DirectionsJa Do Campground
DirectionsTrails & water
6 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.2 miUnpaved · 10.5 mi
Pine Tree Trail1.1 mi
Kettlehole Trail0.4 mi
Sassafras Trail0.2 mi
Hiker's Trail0.2 mi
Hikers' Trail0.1 mi
Sky Walk0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Franklin Township: July 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 45 | 59 | 70 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 62 | 48 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 3.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Franklin Township →
Next door
Franklin Township and its neighbors
Franklin Township has the most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Franklin Township13 miManchester Township10 miCambridge Township2.0 miClinton Township1.5 miTecumseh Township0.7 miAdrian Township0.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Township | 3% | 0.3 | 300 | 22% | B |
| Cambridge Township | 6% | 0.1 | 190 | 41% | B− |
| Manchester Township | 3% | 0.3 | 111 | 55% | B |
| Adrian Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 14 | 10% | C− |
| Tecumseh Township | 2% | 0.1 | 2 | 34% | C− |
| Clinton Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 17 | 52% | C |
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: Hidden Lake Gardens, 8.9 miles; W. Hayes State Park, 1.1 miles; Taylor Roadside Park, 1.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Franklin Township is conserved land?
3% 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?
Hidden Lake Gardens and W. Hayes State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Franklin Township?
11,764 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Franklin Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 913 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Franklin Township have?
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #388 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 Franklin 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 →