Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
7,383 acres28.8 mi of trail
Leota TrailCaner Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Frost Township
Frost Township has 537 acres of parks, 565 for every 1,000 residents
38 miles of mapped trail cross Frost Township, 1.1 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit (28.8 mi). 27% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
666 acres · of 35.0 sq mi of land
Trails
38 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
537 ac
565 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
27%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
4
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Frost Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Frost Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Frost Township is ahead of 71% 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 Frost Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (38 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land565 acres of park per 1,000 residents (537 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home27% 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
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 Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit, with 28.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
7 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
666 conserved acres
3% of Frost Township’s land. Who manages Frost Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners350 ac
State fish & wildlife289 ac
Other state land28 ac
State Conservation Area · 317 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 207 acPrivate Park · 143 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Townline Creek Flooding State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 289 | Open |
| Michigan Capitol Girl Scouts Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 207 | Open |
| Private Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 143 | Restricted |
| State Forest State Conservation Area | Other state land | 28 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Frost Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Frost Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 6.8 mi
Leota Trail3.7 mi
Caner Trail0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Frost 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 31 | 41 | 54 | 68 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 71 | 58 | 43 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 2.3 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 3.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Frost Township →
Next door
Frost Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Roscommon Township250 miSummerfield Township93 miFrost Township38 miFranklin Township37 miHayes Township11 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frost Township | 3% | 1.1 | 565 | 27% | B+ |
| Hayes Township | 3% | 0.4 | 109 | 40% | B |
| Summerfield Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Franklin Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Roscommon Township | 13% | 2.4 | 1,488 | 21% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Frost Township
Where can I hike in Frost Township?
The longest trail networks: Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit, 28.8 miles; Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Frost 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 Frost Township’s trails?
Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit and Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Frost Township?
53,070 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Frost Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 537 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Frost Township have?
Ahead of 71% 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 Frost 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 →