Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
1,533 acres2.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Garfield Township
Garfield Township has 1,984 acres of parks, 1,040 for every 1,000 residents
9% of Garfield Township’s land is conserved, about 1,996 acres. The biggest trail networks: Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit (2.8 mi). 35% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 74% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
1,996 acres · of 33.4 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,984 ac
1,040 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
35%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.6 mi
6.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
14
1 beach · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Garfield Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Garfield Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Garfield Township is ahead of 74% 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 Garfield Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land1,040 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,984 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home35% 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 74%
LessMore
Water is 7% of Garfield Township’s area (2 of 36 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 9%.
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 2.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
1,996 conserved acres
9% of Garfield Township’s land. Water is left out: Garfield Township has 33.4 square miles of land and 2.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Garfield Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners1,975 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)20 ac
Private Recreation or Education · 1,462 acPrivate Park · 513 acConservation Easement · 20 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bass Lake Hunt Club Private Park | Private owners | 513 | Open |
| Lansing YMCA Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 476 | Open |
| Michigan Eagles Family Rec Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 340 | Open |
| Canadea Acres Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 254 | Open |
| BL and DB Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 155 | Open |
| Midland Camping Council Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 113 | Open |
| United Wildlife Areay of Midland County Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 64 | Open |
| Land Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 61 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Garfield Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Garfield Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Garfield Township
2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in Garfield Township
1 campground without a name on the map.
Trails & water
14 lakes & rivers
Biking & sports
6.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
6.6 mi
off-road bike paths
When to get out
The best walking months in Garfield Township: July and 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 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 31 | 42 | 55 | 68 | 78 | 82 | 79 | 72 | 58 | 44 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 2.4 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.6 inches fall in April, the wettest month. The climate in Garfield Township →
Next door
Garfield Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Freeman Township43 miSurrey Township18 miGarfield Township14 miOrient Township2.7 miColdwater Township1.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garfield Township | 9% | 0.4 | 1,040 | 35% | B+ |
| Freeman Township | 11% | 1.2 | 1,697 | 14% | A− |
| Surrey Township | 5% | 0.5 | 104 | 34% | B+ |
| Orient Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Coldwater 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 Garfield Township
Where can I hike in Garfield Township?
The longest trail networks: Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit, 2.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Garfield Township is conserved land?
9% 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 Garfield Township’s trails?
Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Garfield Township?
6.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 6.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Garfield Township?
13,595 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Garfield Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,984 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Garfield Township have?
Ahead of 74% 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 Garfield 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 →