Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
8,351 acres41.2 mi of trail
Twin Hemlock LoopWhoopsy LoopRelic Pine LoopHighland Loop+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
COutdoors
Outdoors in Hayes Township
Hayes Township has 203 miles of mapped trails, 2.9 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit (41.2 mi). 14% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 8 acres are parks and preserves, 3.0 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 34% of U.S. towns · #559 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
367 acres · of 69.2 sq mi of land
Trails
203 mi
2.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
8 ac
3.0 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
14%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
19
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Hayes Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hayes Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hayes Township is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns, #559 of 701 in Michigan. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Hayes Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%CTrails2.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (203 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land3.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (8 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home14% 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 34%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 20%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D 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 Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit, with 41.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
367 conserved acres
1% of Hayes Township’s land. Who manages Hayes Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners363 ac
U.S. Forest Service4 ac
Private Park · 363 acNational Forest · 4 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilderness Valley Golf Club - Black Forest Course Private Park | Private owners | 206 | Restricted |
| Wilderness Valley Golf Club - Valley Course Private Park | Private owners | 157 | Restricted |
| Manistee National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 4 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Hayes Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Hayes Township
Lake Manuka Public Boat Access
DirectionsTrails & water
25 named trails and 19 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 6.3 miHorses · 6.3 miUnpaved · 15.0 mi
C Sanders Trail2.2 mi
Twin Hemlock Loop2.1 mi
Safari Trail1.9 mi
Wahwahtaysee Trail1.7 mi
Grecas Trail1.6 mi
Teton Ridge1.6 mi
Whoopsy Loop1.5 mi
Au Sable Trail1.4 mi
Relic Pine Loop1.4 mi
Gas Company Trail1.3 mi
15 more trails
Highland Loop
1.3 miNorth Shistoto Trail
1.1 miSouth Shistoto Trail
1.1 miWhite Cloud Trail
1.0 miHayesego Trail
0.9 miRoyal Coachman
0.7 miTobys Trail
0.7 miManuka Trail
0.7 miSnowshoe Trail
0.7 miShoppengon Pass
0.7 miOgemaw Trail
0.7 miLost Dog Run
0.7 miEast Deward Trail
0.6 miEkelund Trail
0.6 miNighthawk Trail
0.6 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
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
2Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Hayes Township: May to August
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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 25 | 28 | 39 | 52 | 66 | 75 | 79 | 77 | 69 | 55 | 41 | 31 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 3.0 | 2.5 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.1 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Hayes Township →
Next door
Hayes Township and its neighbors
Hayes Township has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Frederic Township230 miHayes Township203 miMancelona Township130 miOtsego Lake Township54 miStar Township37 miElmira Township29 miLakes of the North23 miBagley Township22 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hayes Township | 1% | 2.9 | 3 | 14% | C |
| Elmira Township | 1% | 0.8 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
| Bagley Township | 3% | 0.8 | 10 | 18% | C+ |
| Star Township | under 1% | 1.1 | under 1 | 7% | C− |
| Frederic Township | 14% | 3.2 | 4,372 | 46% | A |
| Mancelona Township | 1% | 1.8 | 6 | 33% | C+ |
| Lakes of the North | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Otsego Lake Township | 1% | 1.7 | 50 | 16% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Hayes Township
Where can I hike in Hayes Township?
The longest trail networks: Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit, 41.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hayes Township is conserved land?
1% 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 Hayes Township’s trails?
Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Hayes Township?
17,404 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hayes Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 12 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Hayes Township have?
Ahead of 34% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #559 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 Hayes 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 →