Ortonville State Recreation Area
Nature preserve
3,534 acres25.8 mi of trail
High Vista Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Hadley Flour and Feed Mill · Photo: Notorious4life · Public domainAOutdoors
Outdoors in Hadley Township
Hadley Township has 4,480 acres of parks, 987 for every 1,000 residents
21% of Hadley Township’s land is conserved, about 4,777 acres. 31 miles of mapped trail cross Hadley Township, 0.9 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Ortonville State Recreation Area (25.8 mi), Metamora-Hadley State Recreation Area (3.7 mi).
Ahead of 89% of U.S. towns · #90 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
21%
4,777 acres · of 35.0 sq mi of land
Trails
31 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
4,480 ac
987 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
46%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,204 ft
Kerr Hill
Lakes & rivers
21
1 beach · 4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Hadley Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hadley Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hadley Township is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns, #90 of 701 in Michigan. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Hadley Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land21% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (31 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land987 acres of park per 1,000 residents (4,480 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home46% 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 89%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 87%
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 Ortonville State Recreation Area, with 25.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Metamora-Hadley State Recreation Area
Park
711 acres3.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Sutherland Nature Sanctuary
Managed by Six Rivers Land Conservancy
117 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Marston Park
Managed by Hadley Township
8 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
4,777 conserved acres
21% of Hadley Township’s land. Who manages Hadley Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks4,274 ac
Private owners400 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits75 ac
State natural resources28 ac
State Recreation Area · 4,274 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 227 acPrivate Park · 126 acPrivate Conservation · 75 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 47 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ortonville Recreation Area State Recreation Area | State parks | 3,559 | Open |
| Metamora-Hadley Recreation Area State Recreation Area | State parks | 715 | Open |
| Utility Corridor Private Other or Unknown | Private owners | 227 | Open |
| Private Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 126 | Restricted |
| Sutherland Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 75 | Open |
| Rolling Hills Club Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 47 | Open |
| Michigan Natural Resource Trust Fund Parcel Unknown | State natural resources | 28 | Open |
Things to do
11 places to go in Hadley Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Hadley Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Hadley Township
1 playground without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Hadley Township
4 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Hadley Township
Kerr Hill1,204 ft elevation · In Ortonville State Recreation Area
DirectionsPinnacle PointIn Ortonville State Recreation Area
DirectionsPicnic areas in Hadley Township
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Hadley Township
Equestrian CampgroundIn Ortonville State Recreation Area
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 21 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 16.4 miUnpaved · 2.0 mi
High Vista Trail1.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Algoe LakelakeBaily LakelakeBig Fish LakelakeBrigham LakelakeBuckingham LakepondBunnel LakepondDavison LakelakeFox LakelakeHemingway LakelakeKoester LakelakeKoester LakeslakeLake LapeerreservoirLake MarionlakeLake MinnawannareservoirMitten LakelakeMud LakelakeRiley LakelakeRound LakelakeSawmill LakelakeTody LakelakeWebester Lakelake
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
2Beach volleyball
2Baseball
1Basketball
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).
Hadley Flour and Feed MillBuilding · listed 1986
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Hadley 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 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 43 | 57 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Hadley Township →
Next door
Hadley Township and its neighbors
Hadley Township has the most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Hadley Township31 miMetamora Township10 miBrandon Township5.5 miAtlas Township3.7 miElba Township0.4 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hadley Township | 21% | 0.9 | 987 | 46% | A |
| Elba Township | 5% | under 0.1 | 40 | 21% | C+ |
| Metamora Township | 12% | 0.3 | 438 | 23% | B+ |
| Atlas Township | 5% | 0.1 | 36 | 25% | B− |
| Brandon Township | 6% | 0.2 | 81 | 37% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Hadley Township
Where can I hike in Hadley Township?
The longest trail networks: Ortonville State Recreation Area, 25.8 miles; Metamora-Hadley State Recreation Area, 3.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hadley Township is conserved land?
21% 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 Hadley Township’s trails?
Ortonville State Recreation Area and Metamora-Hadley State Recreation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Hadley Township?
23,442 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hadley Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4,507 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Hadley Township have?
Ahead of 89% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #90 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 Hadley 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 →