Barry State Game Area
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
1,259 acres1.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Saint Joseph Seminary · Public domainBOutdoors
Outdoors in Hope Township
Hope Township has 1,519 acres of parks, 477 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Barry State Game Area (1.3 mi). 7% of Hope Township’s land is conserved, about 1,500 acres. 19% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns · #404 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
1,500 acres · of 32.5 sq mi of land
Trails
3.7 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,519 ac
477 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
19%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
25
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Hope Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hope Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hope Township is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns, #404 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 Hope Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4CPark land477 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,519 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home19% 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 56%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 42%
Water is 10% of Hope Township’s area (4 of 36 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 6%.
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 Barry State Game Area, with 1.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hidden Pond Preserve
Managed by Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy
67 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Long Lake Public Access
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Boat parking
Who protects it
1,500 conserved acres
7% of Hope Township’s land. Water is left out: Hope Township has 32.5 square miles of land and 3.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Hope Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife1,254 ac
Private owners180 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits68 ac
State Conservation Area · 1,254 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 180 acPrivate Conservation · 68 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barry State Game Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 1,254 | Open |
| Camp Michiwana Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 180 | Open |
| Hidden Pond Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 68 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Hope Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Hope Township
Long Lake Boat Launch
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 25 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.0 mi
Red Oak Trail0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Bawker LakelakeBig Cedar LakeCloverdale LakelakeCox LakeGesler LakelakeGuernsey LakeHead LakeHorseshoe LakelakeJones LakeLarabee LakelakeLittle Cedar LakeLittle Pine LakepondLong LakelakeLoomis LakepondMyers LakeNumber Twenty-one LakelakePerch LakePine LakelakeShallow LakelakeTillotson LakeTwin LakeslakeWall LakeWhitefish LakelakeWilkinson LakeZigler Lakelake
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Saint Joseph SeminaryDistrict · listed 2019
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Hope 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 45 | 58 | 70 | 79 | 83 | 80 | 73 | 61 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 2.8 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.3 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Hope Township →
Next door
Hope Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Yankee Springs Township60 miRutland Township12 miOrangeville Township9.4 miHope Township3.7 miBaltimore Township3.4 miBarry Township2.5 miDelton0.6 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hope Township | 7% | 0.1 | 477 | 19% | B |
| Rutland Township | 26% | 0.3 | 1,181 | 25% | A− |
| Barry Township | 1% | 0.1 | 17 | 26% | C− |
| Baltimore Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 141 | 6% | C |
| Orangeville Township | 16% | 0.3 | 877 | 34% | B+ |
| Delton | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Yankee Springs Township | 64% | 1.9 | 2,329 | 56% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Hope Township
Where can I hike in Hope Township?
The longest trail networks: Barry State Game Area, 1.3 miles; Hidden Pond Preserve, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hope Township is conserved land?
7% 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 Hope Township’s trails?
Barry State Game Area and Hidden Pond Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Hope Township?
30,302 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hope Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,519 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Hope Township have?
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #404 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 Hope 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 →