Humbug Marsh
Nature preserve
334 acres1.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Gibraltar Road-Waterway Canal Bridge · Photo: Andrew Jameson · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Gibraltar
31% of Gibraltar’s land is conserved: 737 acres
8.2 miles of mapped trail cross Gibraltar, 2.2 per square mile of land. 99% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Humbug Marsh (1.4 mi).
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns · #25 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
31%
737 acres · of 3.7 sq mi of land
Trails
8.2 mi
2.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
60 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.6 mi
3.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Gibraltar?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Gibraltar have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Gibraltar is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #25 of 701 in Michigan. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Gibraltar’s overall grade.
Conserved land31% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails2.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (60 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home99% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 95%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 97%
Water is 16% of Gibraltar’s area (1 of 4 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 26%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A 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 Humbug Marsh, with 1.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge
Nature preserve
682 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Gibraltar Wetlands
Nature preserve
349 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Lake Erie Metropark
Park
47 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
Humbug Marsh334 acres · 1.4 mi of trail
DirectionsGibraltar Wetlands349 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsGibraltar Community Park9 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsDetroit River International Wildlife Refuge682 acres
Lake Erie Metropark47 acres
Hedke Park1 acres
DirectionsHy Dahlka Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
737 conserved acres
31% of Gibraltar’s land. Water is left out: Gibraltar has 3.7 square miles of land and 0.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Gibraltar’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service1,422 ac
Other state land444 ac
Town or city13 ac
National Wildlife Refuge · 1,422 acConservation Easement · 444 acLocal Park · 13 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 1,422 | Restricted |
| Gibraltar Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Lake Erie Metropark Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Gibraltar Municipal Complex Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Gibraltar
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Gibraltar
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Gibraltar
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
3.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
8Tennis
7Baseball
1Football
1Softball
1Basketball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Gibraltar Road-Waterway Canal BridgeStructure · listed 2000
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Gibraltar: June 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 | 14.6 | 15.2 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 35 | 45 | 57 | 69 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 61 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 2.3 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 3.8 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Gibraltar →
Next door
Gibraltar and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gibraltar | 31% | 2.2 | 12 | 99% | A |
| Brownstown Township | 12% | 0.8 | 52 | 83% | A |
| Grosse Ile Township | 12% | 1.3 | 23 | 79% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Gibraltar
Where can I hike in Gibraltar?
The longest trail networks: Humbug Marsh, 1.4 miles; Gibraltar Wetlands, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Gibraltar is conserved land?
31% 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 Gibraltar’s trails?
Humbug Marsh and Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Gibraltar?
3.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Gibraltar?
11,890 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Gibraltar or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 60 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Gibraltar have?
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #25 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 Gibraltar 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 →