Murray Lake Public Access
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
8 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
COutdoors
Outdoors in Grattan Township
Grattan Township has 65 acres of parks, 17 for every 1,000 residents
0.5 miles of mapped trail cross Grattan Township. 26% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3% of Grattan Township’s land is conserved, about 741 acres.
Ahead of 30% of U.S. towns · #580 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
741 acres · of 34.1 sq mi of land
Trails
0.5 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
65 ac
17 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
26%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.8 mi
1.8 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
34
3 boat launches
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Grattan Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Grattan Township is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns, #580 of 701 in Michigan. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Grattan Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land17 acres of park per 1,000 residents (65 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13BParks close to home26% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 30%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 17%
Water is 8% of Grattan Township’s area (3 of 37 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 3%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− 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.
Grattan Township Roadside Park
Park
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Big Pine Island Lake Public Access
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
741 conserved acres
3% of Grattan Township’s land. Water is left out: Grattan Township has 34.1 square miles of land and 2.9 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Grattan Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
USDA easements (NRCS)610 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits123 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service75 ac
Town or city3 ac
Other state land1 ac
Agricultural Easement · 610 acPrivate Conservation · 123 acConservation Easement · 77 acLocal Park · 3 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 615 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saul Lake Nature Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 123 | Open |
| Grattan Township Roadside Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Grattan Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Grattan Township
Big Pine Island Lake Boat LaunchIn Big Pine Island Lake Public Access
DirectionsPlus 2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
34 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Big Crooked LakelakeBig Pine Island LakelakeBraden LakelakeBush LakepondByrne LakelakeCasner LakelakeChapin LakelakeCowan LakelakeDuga LakelakeGavin LakelakeGreen LakelakeHoward LakelakeLake CowdenlakeLally LakelakeLewis LakelakeLittle Muskrat LakelakeMcCarthy LakelakeMcGee LakelakeMurray LakelakeMuskrat LakelakeRatigan LakelakeRound LakelakeSaul LakelakeScally LakelakeSlayton LakelakeSmith LakelakeSteele LakelakeStocking LakelakeToohey LakepondTower LakelakeTwin LakeslakeWhitten LakeWinkey LakelakeWolf Lakelake
Biking & sports
1.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.8 mi
off-road bike paths
When to get out
The best walking months in Grattan Township: 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) | 9.3 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 44 | 57 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 3.0 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.9 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Grattan Township →
Next door
Grattan Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Cannon Township49 miVergennes Township17 miOakfield Township2.7 miOtisco Township2.4 miGrattan Township0.5 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grattan Township | 3% | under 0.1 | 17 | 26% | C |
| Oakfield Township | 1% | 0.1 | 27 | 8% | C− |
| Vergennes Township | 12% | 0.5 | 268 | 36% | A− |
| Cannon Township | 7% | 1.4 | 123 | 40% | A− |
| Otisco Township | 5% | 0.1 | 449 | 17% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Grattan Township
How much of Grattan Township is conserved land?
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.
Are dogs allowed on Grattan Township’s trails?
Murray Lake Public Access and Grattan Township Roadside Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Grattan Township?
1.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Grattan Township?
25,314 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Grattan Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 65 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Grattan Township have?
Ahead of 30% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #580 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 Grattan 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 →