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Passage Island Light StationPassage Island Light Station · Photo: US Coast Guard · Public domain
–Not graded
Outdoors in Houghton Township

More than half of Houghton Township’s land is conserved: 100%

100% of Houghton Township’s land is conserved, about 218,738 acres. The biggest trail networks: Isle Royale Wilderness (61.5 mi), Isle Royale National Park (9.9 mi). 13,936 acres are parks and preserves, 158,358 per 1,000 residents.

Conserved land
100%
218,738 acres · of 120.7 sq mi of land
Trails
188 mi
1.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
13,936 ac
158,358 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
49%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,181 ft
Mount Siskiwit
Lakes & rivers
48
1 beach
The map

Conserved land, trails & bike routes

Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.

1234
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 Isle Royale Wilderness, with 61.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Isle Royale Wilderness

Managed by National Park Service
52,945 acres61.5 mi of trail
Greenstone Ridge TrailIndian Portage TrailRock Harbor TrailMinong Ridge Trail+1
Dogs usually limited
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗

Isle Royale National Park

Managed by National Park Service
53,836 acres9.9 mi of trail
Rock Harbor TrailStoll TrailTobin Harbor TrailLake Richie Trail+1
Dogs usually limited
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗

Bammert Farm Preserve

Managed by Gratiot Lake Conservancy
498 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗

Keweenaw Underwater Preserve

Nature preserve
16 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it

218,738 conserved acres

100% of Houghton Township’s land. Water is left out: Houghton Township has 120.7 square miles of land and 396.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Houghton Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

National Park Service217,757 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits525 ac
State natural resources313 ac
County143 ac
National Park · 217,757 acPrivate Agricultural · 477 acState Conservation Area · 313 acLocal Resource Management Area · 95 acLocal Park · 48 ac
The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Isle Royale National Park
National Park
National Park Service217,757Open
Bammert Farm Parcel
Private Agricultural
Land trusts & nonprofits477Restricted
Baraga State Forest Area
State Conservation Area
State natural resources313Open
Local Forest
Local Resource Management Area
County95Open
County of Keweenaw Park
Local Park
County48Open
Central Mine and Village
Private Recreation or Education
Land trusts & nonprofits48Open
Things to do

50 places to go in Houghton Township

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

Campgrounds in Houghton Township
#1In Isle Royale National Park
Directions
#1In Isle Royale National Park
Directions
#2In Isle Royale National Park
Directions
#2In Isle Royale National Park
Directions
#3In Isle Royale National Park
Directions
Belle IsleIn Isle Royale National Park
Directions
Birch Island Campground
Directions
Caribou IslandIn Isle Royale National Park
Directions
22 more campgrounds
Chippewa HarborIn Isle Royale Wilderness
Directions
Daisy Farm CampgroundIn Isle Royale National Park · United States National Park Service
Directions
Duncan Bay
Directions
Duncan Bay NarrowsIn Isle Royale Wilderness
Directions
East Chickenbone Lake CampgroundIn Isle Royale Wilderness
Directions
Group Site #1In Isle Royale National Park
Directions
Group Site 2In Isle Royale National Park
Directions
Group site #3In Isle Royale National Park
Directions
Intermediate LakeIn Isle Royale Wilderness
Directions
Lake RichieIn Isle Royale Wilderness
Directions
Lake Richie CanoeIn Isle Royale Wilderness
Directions
Lake WhittleseyIn Isle Royale Wilderness
Directions
Lane CoveIn Isle Royale Wilderness · National Park Service
Directions
McCargoe Cove CampgroundIn Isle Royale National Park
Directions
Merritt Lane CampgroundIn Isle Royale Wilderness · United States National Park Service
Directions
Moskey Basin CampgroundFee · In Isle Royale National Park · United States Natonal Park Service
Directions
Pickerel CoveIn Isle Royale Wilderness
Directions
Rock HarborIn Isle Royale National Park
Directions
Rock HarborIn Isle Royale National Park
Directions
Three Mile CampgroundIn Isle Royale National Park · National Park Service
Directions
Tookers IslandIn Isle Royale Wilderness
Directions
West Chickenbone Lake CampgroundIn Isle Royale Wilderness · United Staes National Park Service
Directions

32 campgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.

Trails & water

25 named trails and 48 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Unpaved · 53.9 mi
Greenstone Ridge Trail19.6 mi
Rock Harbor Trail10.5 mi
Indian Portage Trail10.3 mi
Minong Ridge Trail5.4 mi
Stoll Trail3.9 mi
Tobin Harbor Trail2.9 mi
Mott Island Trail2.5 mi
Lane Cove Trail2.2 mi
Mount Franklin Trail1.9 mi
Lake Richie Trail1.9 mi
15 more trails
Mount Ojibway Trail
1.7 mi
Daisy Farm Trail
1.7 mi
East Chickenbone Lake Trail
1.6 mi
Portage
0.9 mi
Central Mine Hiking Trail
0.7 mi
Ishpeming Trail
0.4 mi
B Route
0.4 mi
Edisen Fishery Trail
0.4 mi
Lake Mason Access Trail
0.3 mi
Old US 41
0.3 mi
Moskey Basin Access Trail
0.3 mi
Tobin Harbor Cut off Trail
0.2 mi
Lake Lesage Access Trail
0.2 mi
Lookout Louise Access Trail
0.1 mi
Lake Livermore Access Trail
0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Amygdaloid LakeAngleworm LakelakeBeaver LakelakeBeaver PondCentral LakeChickenbone LakelakeDeerwater LakeEpidote LakeForbes LakeHidden LakeHorseshoe PondIntermediate LakelakeLake AhmikLake BensonlakeLake DustinLake EvaLake GeorgeLake HarveylakeLake JohnLake LivermorelakeLake MasonLake OjibwaylakeLake RichielakeLake ScholtsLake ShesheeblakeLake TheresaLake WagejoLake WhittleseylakeLeSage LakelakeLinklater LakeMcdonald LakelakeMeadow LakeMoose LakeNewt LakeOtter LakePatterson LakeSargent LakeSiskiwit LakelakeSumner LakelakeWallace LakeWood LakelakeEagle RiverEast Branch Eagle RiverGratiot RiverLittle Gratiot RiverSiskiwit RiverTrap Rock RiverWest Branch Eagle River
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
1Tennis
1Pickleball
1Baseball

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

History along the way

11 places on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 15 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.

History →
Central Mine Methodist ChurchBuilding · listed 1970
About it
Central Mine Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1974
About it
Edisen FisheryBuilding · listed 1977
About it
Rock Harbor LighthouseBuilding · listed 1977
About it
Isle Royale Light StationBuilding · listed 1983
About it
Eagle River Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1984
About it
Church of the AssumptionBuilding · listed 2000
About it
Passage Island Light StationSite · listed 2006
About it
MinongDistrict · listed 2019
About it
Tobin Harbor Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2019
About it
Ojibway Fire TowerStructure · listed 2021
About it
When to get out

August is the best month for walking in Houghton Township

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)8.810.111.713.615.216.015.714.312.510.79.28.4
High (°F)202434465867737365513827
Rain (in)2.01.41.42.22.93.13.53.03.13.22.32.2

March is the driest month (1.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 73 °F). 3.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Houghton Township →

Next door

Houghton Township and its neighbors

Houghton Township has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Eagle Harbor Township223 miHoughton Township188 miSherman Township157 miAllouez Township93 miEagle River14 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Houghton Township— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Eagle Harbor Township— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Eagle River— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Sherman Township— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Allouez Township6%1.71,94866%A

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

Questions about parks and trails in Houghton Township

Where can I hike in Houghton Township?

The longest trail networks: Isle Royale Wilderness, 61.5 miles; Isle Royale National Park, 9.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

Are dogs allowed on Houghton Township’s trails?

Isle Royale Wilderness and Isle Royale National Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Is there public land near Houghton Township?

285,041 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Houghton Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 13,936 of them inside the town line.

Trail talk

Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Houghton 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 →