Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
131 acres are parks and preserves, 130 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Pere Marquette State Forest - Traverse City Unit (267.8 mi), Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit (1.1 mi), Au Sable State Forest - Grayling Unit (0.7 mi). 13% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Garfield Township is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
The longest trail network is Pere Marquette State Forest - Traverse City Unit, with 267.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
3% of Garfield Township’s land. Who manages Garfield Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 879 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camp Grayling Military Reservation State Other or Unknown | Other or Unknown Federal Land | 1,348 | Open |
| Kirtlands Warbler Wildlife Management Area Conservation Area | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 159 | Restricted |
| Grass Lake Marsh Flooding State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 43 | Open |
| Veterans Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Addis Creek Flooding State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 6 | Open |
| Cadillac State Forest Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 4 | Open |
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
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 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 30 | 41 | 54 | 67 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 71 | 57 | 43 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 2.7 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 3.8 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Garfield Township →
Garfield Township has the most mapped trails of the 7 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garfield Township | 3% | 2.9 | 130 | 13% | B+ |
| Beaver Creek Township | 3% | 2.8 | 330 | 10% | B+ |
| Springfield Township | 2% | 1.0 | 2 | 5% | C |
| Norwich Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Orange Township | 5% | 0.6 | 2 | 2% | C |
| Pioneer Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Bear Lake 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.
The longest trail networks: Pere Marquette State Forest - Traverse City Unit, 267.8 miles; Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit, 1.1 miles; Au Sable State Forest - Grayling Unit, 0.7 miles; Veterans park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
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.
Pere Marquette State Forest - Traverse City Unit and Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
96,020 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Garfield Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,495 of them inside the town line.
Ahead of 72% 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.
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Garfield Township neighbors.
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 →