Fitzergald Park
Managed by Eaton County Parks Department
71 acres2.7 mi of trail
Acorn TrailWest Woods TrailRiver Ridge TrailWildflower Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Grand Ledge Chair Company Plant · Photo: Holofect · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Grand Ledge
Grand Ledge has 5.9 miles of mapped trails, 1.5 for every square mile of land
93% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Fitzergald Park (2.7 mi), Oak Park (0.7 mi). 186 acres are parks and preserves, 24 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns · #99 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
166 acres · of 3.9 sq mi of land
Trails
5.9 mi
1.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
186 ac
24 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
93%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.9 mi
0.3 mi lanes · 0.5 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Grand Ledge?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Grand Ledge have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Grand Ledge is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #99 of 701 in Michigan. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, conserved land lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Grand Ledge’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land24 acres of park per 1,000 residents (186 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home93% 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 88%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 86%
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 Fitzergald Park, with 2.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Oak Park
Managed by City of Grand Ledge
10 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Island Park
Managed by City of Grand Ledge
3 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Jaycee Park
Managed by City of Grand Ledge
10 acres0.1 mi of trail
Riverwalk Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 7 parks & preserves
Fitzergald Park71 acres · 2.7 mi of trail · Eaton County Parks Department
DirectionsOak Park10 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · City of Grand Ledge
DirectionsIsland Park3 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · City of Grand Ledge
DirectionsJaycee Park10 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Grand Ledge
DirectionsLittle Fitz Park8 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Grand Ledge
DirectionsOakwood Greenspace2 acres · City of Grand Ledge
Colonial Park1 acres · City of Grand Ledge
DirectionsWho protects it
166 conserved acres
7% of Grand Ledge’s land. Who manages Grand Ledge’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city128 ac
County42 ac
Local Park · 169 acLocal Recreation Area · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recreation Greenspace Local Park | Town or city | 47 | Open |
| Fitzgerald Park Local Park | County | 42 | Open |
| Fitzgerald Park & Field Local Park | Town or city | 28 | Open |
| Colonial Park Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| Oak Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Jaycee Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Little Fitz Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Oakwood Greenspace Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Island Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Fitzgerald Memorial Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 1 | Open |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
4 places to go in Grand Ledge
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Grand Ledge
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Grand Ledge
ADA PlaygroundIn Jaycee Park
DirectionsPlus 1 playground without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Grand Ledge
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Trails & water
8 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.4 miUnpaved · 3.8 mi
West Woods Trail0.7 mi
Acorn Trail0.6 mi
Hemlock Trail0.3 mi
River Ridge Trail0.2 mi
Bloodwell Trail0.2 mi
South Trail0.1 mi
Wildflower Trail0.1 mi
Riverwalk Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
9Tennis
7Baseball
4Soccer
2Football
1Multi-sport
1Softball
1Beach volleyball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 5 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Grand Ledge: 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 44 | 57 | 69 | 79 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 47 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 2.6 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.0 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Grand Ledge →
Next door
Grand Ledge and its neighbors
Grand Ledge has the second most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Ledge | 7% | 1.5 | 24 | 93% | A |
| Oneida Township | 3% | 0.1 | 15 | 42% | C+ |
| Eagle Township | 1% | 0.4 | 80 | 13% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Grand Ledge
Where can I hike in Grand Ledge?
The longest trail networks: Fitzergald Park, 2.7 miles; Oak Park, 0.7 miles; Island Park, 0.3 miles; Jaycee Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Grand Ledge is conserved land?
7% 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 Grand Ledge’s trails?
Fitzergald Park and Oak Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Grand Ledge?
0.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of painted or protected lanes and 0.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Grand Ledge?
6,723 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Grand Ledge or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 186 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Grand Ledge have?
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #99 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 Grand Ledge 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 →