Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
DOutdoors
Outdoors in Gibson Township
Few parks or trails are on the map in Gibson Township
5% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2.0 miles of mapped trail cross Gibson Township, 0.1 per square mile of land. 5 acres are parks and preserves, 5.2 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 12% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
185 acres · of 35.5 sq mi of land
Trails
2.0 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
5 ac
5.2 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
5%
of residents within ½ mile
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Gibson Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Gibson Township is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; park acres per resident come closest.
D
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Gibson Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land5.2 acres of park per 1,000 residents (5 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13CParks close to home5% 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 12%
LessMore
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Gibson Township. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
185 conserved acres
1% of Gibson Township’s land. Who manages Gibson Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners184 ac
Other state land1 ac
Private Other or Unknown · 184 acConservation Easement · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utility Corridor Private Other or Unknown | Private owners | 184 | Open |
When to get out
The best walking months in Gibson 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 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 32 | 42 | 55 | 68 | 78 | 82 | 79 | 73 | 59 | 46 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 1.8 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 1.9 |
February is the driest month (1.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.5 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Gibson Township →
Next door
Gibson Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Grim Township141 miAdams Township58 miLincoln Township2.7 miGibson Township2.0 miMount Forest Township1.5 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gibson Township | 1% | 0.1 | 5 | 5% | D |
| Mount Forest Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 29 | 4% | C− |
| Grim Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Lincoln Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Adams 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 Gibson Township
How much of Gibson Township is conserved land?
1% 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 Gibson Township’s trails?
Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Gibson Township?
13,678 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Gibson Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 5 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Gibson Township have?
Ahead of 12% 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 Gibson 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 →