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B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Hastings Township

Hastings Township has 383 acres of parks, 125 for every 1,000 residents

The biggest trail networks: Historic Charlton Park (3.2 mi). 18% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 6.3 miles of mapped trail cross Hastings Township, 0.2 per square mile of land.

Ahead of 46% of U.S. towns · #469 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

Conserved land
2%
423 acres · of 30.0 sq mi of land
Trails
6.3 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
383 ac
125 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
18%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.5 mi
1.5 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
5
1 beach · 1 boat launch

What kind of outdoors town is Hastings Township?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Room to roam125 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Hastings Township have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hastings Township is ahead of 46% of U.S. towns, #469 of 701 in Michigan. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.

B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Hastings Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land125 acres of park per 1,000 residents (383 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home18% 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 46%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 33%
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.

123
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 Historic Charlton Park, with 3.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Historic Charlton Park

Managed by Barry County
280 acres3.2 mi of trail
Prairie Loop TrailHighland Meadows Loop TrailWoodland Loop TrailLog Cabin Loop Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

McKeown Bridge Park

Managed by Barry County
23 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Carter Lake Preserve

Managed by Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy
59 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it

423 conserved acres

2% of Hastings Township’s land. Who manages Hastings Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

County288 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service71 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits61 ac
Private owners2 ac
Local Park · 288 acConservation Easement · 71 acPrivate Conservation · 61 acPrivate Park · 2 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 71 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Charlton Park
Local Park
County288Open
Carter Lake Preserve
Private Conservation
Land trusts & nonprofits61Open
Hastings Country Club
Private Park
Private owners2Restricted
Things to do

11 places to go in Hastings Township

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Campgrounds in Hastings Township
Rivergate Family Campground
Directions
Trails & water

8 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Unpaved · 2.2 mi
Prairie Loop Trail0.9 mi
Highland Meadows Loop Trail0.6 mi
Woodland Loop Trail0.5 mi
Log Cabin Loop Trail0.4 mi
Prairie Loop Tributary Trail0.3 mi
Woodland Loop Tributary Trail0.2 mi
Highland Meadows Loop Tributary Trail0.1 mi
Log Cabin Loop Tributary Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Bear Hole LakelakeCarter LakelakeEllison LakeLily LakepondThornapple River
Biking & sports

1.5 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

1.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Soccer
2Baseball

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

When to get out

The best walking months in Hastings 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.410.511.813.314.615.315.013.912.411.09.79.1
High (°F)313445587079838073614736
Rain (in)2.52.02.33.64.23.93.53.73.23.82.82.4

February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.2 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Hastings Township →

Next door

Hastings Township and its neighbors

Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Hastings15 miRutland Township12 miHastings Township6.3 miBaltimore Township3.4 miCastleton Township3.0 miCarlton Township0.9 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Hastings Township2%0.212518%B−
Hastings9%2.82079%A
Baltimore Townshipunder 1%0.11416%C
Castleton Township2%0.14155%C+
Rutland Township26%0.31,18125%A−
Carlton Townshipunder 1%under 0.1322%D

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in Hastings Township

Where can I hike in Hastings Township?

The longest trail networks: Historic Charlton Park, 3.2 miles; McKeown Bridge Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Hastings Township is conserved land?

2% 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 Hastings Township’s trails?

Historic Charlton Park and McKeown Bridge Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in Hastings Township?

1.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.5 of off-road paths.

Is there public land near Hastings Township?

26,664 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hastings Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 383 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Hastings Township have?

Ahead of 46% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #469 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 Hastings Township neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →