Hancock Beach Park
Managed by City of Hancock
5 acres0.1 mi of trail
Trail to Beach
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: Chris857 · CC BY-SA 4.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Hancock
10% of Hancock’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 12 miles of mapped trail cross Hancock, 4.1 per square mile of land. 184 acres are parks and preserves, 40 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns · #6 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
10%
181 acres · of 2.8 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
4.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
184 ac
40 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.7 mi
1.1 mi lanes · 0.7 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Hancock?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Land that stays wild10% of the land is conserved; a typical Michigan town, 5%.A trail town4.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, among the top 1% of U.S. towns.Parks close to homeVirtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park.History along the way5 places on the National Register.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hancock have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hancock is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #6 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 Hancock’s overall grade.
Conserved land10% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails4.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land40 acres of park per 1,000 residents (184 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 98%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)#6 of 701
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 Hancock Beach Park, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Laurn Grove Park
Managed by City of Hancock
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
181 conserved acres
10% of Hancock’s land. Who manages Hancock’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city166 ac
County14 ac
Local Park · 166 acLocal Recreation Area · 14 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Hancock Park Local Park | Town or city | 129 | Open |
| Hancock Recreation Area Local Park | Town or city | 34 | Open |
| County Ball Park Local Recreation Area | County | 14 | Open |
| Laurn Grove Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Terrace Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Porvoo Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in Hancock
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Hancock
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Hancock
Hancock Dog Park
DirectionsBoat launches in Hancock
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in Hancock
Hancock Recreation Area
DirectionsDisc golf in Hancock
Disc Golf CourseCity of Hancock
DirectionsTrails & water
22 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 8.3 miUnpaved · 7.4 mi
St. Urho's Loop1.1 mi
Grill House0.8 mi
ST-170.7 mi
Upper Creekside0.7 mi
Quincy0.6 mi
Jim & Doug's0.4 mi
Skyway0.4 mi
Sisu Hill0.4 mi
Tomasi Loop0.3 mi
Trail to Beach0.3 mi
12 more trails
Iron Ring
0.3 miCreekside
0.2 miPine Loop
0.2 miVista
0.1 miCampground Connector
0.1 miTombstone
0.1 miSunset
0.1 miVista (Singletrack)
0.1 miST-3
0.1 miOverlook Hub Access
0.1 miDam Hill
0.1 miMeadow
0.1 miBiking & sports
1.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Jack Stevens TrailBike route
3.1 miCourts & fields
3Baseball
2Tennis
2Football
1Beach volleyball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
May is the best month for walking in Hancock
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) | 8.9 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 15.1 | 15.9 | 15.5 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.5 |
| High (°F) | 23 | 27 | 37 | 49 | 63 | 72 | 77 | 76 | 68 | 54 | 40 | 29 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 2.2 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 2.2 | 1.7 |
February is the driest month (1.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 3.4 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Hancock →
Next door
Hancock and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hancock | 10% | 4.1 | 40 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Hancock Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Quincy Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Franklin Township | 5% | 1.0 | 386 | 51% | A− |
| Portage Township | 18% | 1.5 | 3,534 | 51% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Hancock
Where can I hike in Hancock?
The longest trail networks: Hancock Beach Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hancock is conserved land?
10% 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 Hancock’s trails?
Hancock Beach Park and Laurn Grove Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Hancock?
1.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.1 of painted or protected lanes and 0.7 of off-road paths. Named routes: Jack Stevens Trail.
Is there public land near Hancock?
8,370 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hancock or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 184 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Hancock have?
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #6 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 Hancock 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 →