Pere Marquette State Forest - Traverse City Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
3,148 acres16.8 mi of trail
State Park Highway
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Al Rau · CC BY-SA 3.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Grant Township
Grant Township has 25 miles of mapped trails, 0.7 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Pere Marquette State Forest - Traverse City Unit (16.8 mi). 4% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4 acres are parks and preserves, 2.8 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 32% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
819 acres · of 35.2 sq mi of land
Trails
25 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
4 ac
2.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
4%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,089 ft
Twin Mountains
Lakes & rivers
5
1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Grant Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Grant Township is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Grant Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (25 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land2.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (4 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home4% 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 32%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. 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 Pere Marquette State Forest - Traverse City Unit, with 16.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
The Dixon's Memorial Park
Managed by Grant Church
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
819 conserved acres
4% of Grant Township’s land. Who manages Grant Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits595 ac
State natural resources224 ac
Unknown Easement · 507 acState Conservation Area · 224 acOther Easement · 88 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 595 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MNRTF Parcel State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 224 | Restricted |
Things to do
2 places to go in Grant Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Grant Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Grant Township
Twin Mountains1,089 ft elevation · In Pere Marquette State Forest - Traverse City Unit
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 23.2 mi
State Park Highway2.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Grant Township: May 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) | 9.2 | 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 | 40 | 53 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 70 | 57 | 43 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 2.9 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (1.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.1 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Grant Township →
Next door
Grant Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Green Lake Township43 miColfax Township42 miWexford Township26 miGrant Township25 miMayfield Township12 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grant Township | 4% | 0.7 | 3 | 4% | C |
| Green Lake Township | 10% | 1.5 | 149 | 41% | A− |
| Colfax Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Mayfield Township | 2% | 0.3 | under 1 | 1% | C− |
| Wexford Township | 20% | 0.7 | 4,406 | 20% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Grant Township
Where can I hike in Grant Township?
The longest trail networks: Pere Marquette State Forest - Traverse City Unit, 16.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Grant Township is conserved land?
4% 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 Grant Township’s trails?
Pere Marquette State Forest - Traverse City Unit and The Dixon's Memorial Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Grant Township?
35,845 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Grant Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Grant Township have?
Ahead of 32% 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 Grant 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 →