Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
3,783 acres3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Hay Township
Hay Township has 72 acres of parks, 51 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit (3 mi). 12% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2% of Hay Township’s land is conserved, about 221 acres.
Ahead of 40% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
221 acres · of 21.5 sq mi of land
Trails
5.3 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
72 ac
51 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
12%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
3
1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hay Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hay Township is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Hay 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 (5 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land51 acres of park per 1,000 residents (72 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home12% 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 40%
LessMore
Water is 5% of Hay Township’s area (1 of 23 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 2%.
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 Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit, with 3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Beaverton Schools Nature Area
Managed by Beaverton Schools
73 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
221 conserved acres
2% of Hay Township’s land. Water is left out: Hay Township has 21.5 square miles of land and 1.2 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Hay Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners221 ac
Private Other or Unknown · 142 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 79 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smallwood Lake Dam Private Other or Unknown | Private owners | 142 | Open |
| Beaverton Rural Schools Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 79 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Hay Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Hay Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
3 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Hay Township: July and 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 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 32 | 42 | 56 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 59 | 46 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 1.9 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.5 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Hay Township →
Next door
Hay Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Grim Township141 miSecord Township16 miBuckeye Township15 miHay Township5.3 miGladwin Township3.3 miBillings Township2.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hay Township | 2% | 0.2 | 51 | 12% | C+ |
| Buckeye Township | 6% | 0.5 | 743 | 13% | B |
| Billings Township | 2% | 0.1 | 102 | 14% | C+ |
| Grim Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Secord Township | 2% | 0.7 | 242 | 14% | B |
| Gladwin Township | under 1% | 0.1 | under 1 | 4% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Hay Township
Where can I hike in Hay Township?
The longest trail networks: Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit, 3 miles; Beaverton Schools Nature Area, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hay 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 Hay Township’s trails?
Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit and Beaverton Schools Nature Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Hay Township?
14,276 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hay Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 72 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Hay Township have?
Ahead of 40% 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 Hay 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 →