Brauer Preserve
Managed by Washtenaw County
218 acres1.9 mi of trail
Red TrailBlue TrailGreen TrailYellow Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Dwight Burdette · CC BY 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Freedom Township
Freedom Township has 227 acres of parks, 170 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Brauer Preserve (1.9 mi). 2% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 6% of Freedom Township’s land is conserved, about 1,426 acres.
Ahead of 51% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
1,426 acres · of 35.4 sq mi of land
Trails
6.2 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
227 ac
170 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
2%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Freedom Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Freedom Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Freedom Township is ahead of 51% of U.S. towns. 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 Freedom Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land170 acres of park per 1,000 residents (227 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home2% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 51%
LessMore
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 Brauer Preserve, with 1.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
1,426 conserved acres
6% of Freedom Township’s land. Who manages Freedom Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
USDA easements (NRCS)724 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits384 ac
County291 ac
Other state land236 ac
State Department of Land191 ac
Private owners136 ac
Agricultural Easement · 1,302 acLocal Conservation Area · 291 acUnknown · 191 acPrivate Park · 136 acConservation Easement · 41 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 808 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brauer Preserve Local Conservation Area | County | 226 | Open |
| Hickory Sticks Golf Club Private Park | Private owners | 136 | Restricted |
| Hinderer George, Horning Unknown | State Department of Land | 107 | Open |
| Hinderer George, Adams Unknown | State Department of Land | 84 | Open |
| Primeau Property Local Conservation Area | County | 65 | Closed |
Things to do
3 places to go in Freedom Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Freedom Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Freedom Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
4 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 4.3 mi
Red Trail0.5 mi
Blue Trail0.5 mi
Green Trail0.4 mi
Yellow Trail0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Freedom Township
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 | 14.6 | 15.2 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 45 | 58 | 70 | 79 | 83 | 80 | 74 | 61 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 3.8 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Freedom Township →
Next door
Freedom Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Sharon Township17 miLodi Township14 miFreedom Township6.2 miLima Township5.1 miBridgewater Township3.6 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freedom Township | 6% | 0.2 | 170 | 2% | B− |
| Lodi Township | 7% | 0.4 | 14 | 40% | B− |
| Sharon Township | 8% | 0.5 | 1,023 | 33% | B+ |
| Lima Township | 8% | 0.1 | 180 | 21% | B |
| Bridgewater Township | 3% | 0.1 | 143 | 13% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Freedom Township
Where can I hike in Freedom Township?
The longest trail networks: Brauer Preserve, 1.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Freedom Township is conserved land?
6% 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 Freedom Township’s trails?
Brauer Preserve doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Freedom Township?
27,755 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Freedom Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 227 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Freedom Township have?
Ahead of 51% 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 Freedom 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 →