Middleville State Game Area
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
3,970 acres12.4 mi of trail
North Country Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Larry Pieniazek, Lar (commons) or User:Lar (primary) · CC BY 2.5A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Irving Township
Irving Township has 4,038 acres of parks, 1,061 for every 1,000 residents
18% of Irving Township’s land is conserved, about 4,087 acres. The biggest trail networks: Middleville State Game Area (12.4 mi), Maher Sanctuary (0.9 mi). 15 miles of mapped trail cross Irving Township, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns · #147 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
18%
4,087 acres · of 35.8 sq mi of land
Trails
15 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
4,038 ac
1,061 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
56%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.2 mi
2.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Irving Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Irving Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Irving Township is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #147 of 701 in Michigan. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Irving Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land18% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (15 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land1,061 acres of park per 1,000 residents (4,038 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home56% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 84%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 79%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. 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 Middleville State Game Area, with 12.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Maher Sanctuary
Nature preserve
76 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Irving Road Boating Access Site
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
4,087 conserved acres
18% of Irving Township’s land. Who manages Irving Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife3,869 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)87 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits74 ac
Private owners46 ac
Town or city10 ac
State Conservation Area · 3,869 acConservation Easement · 87 acPrivate Conservation · 74 acPrivate Park · 46 acLocal Park · 10 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 87 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middleville State Game Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 3,869 | Open |
| Nature Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 74 | Open |
| Wolverine Beagle Club Private Park | Private owners | 46 | Open |
| Moore Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
Trails & water
1 named trail and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 12.3 mi
North Country Trail3.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Irving 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 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 45 | 58 | 69 | 79 | 83 | 80 | 74 | 61 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 2.9 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (2.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.1 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Irving Township →
Next door
Irving Township and its neighbors
Irving Township has the most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Irving Township15 miThornapple Township14 miRutland Township12 miBowne Township2.8 miCarlton Township0.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irving Township | 18% | 0.4 | 1,061 | 56% | A− |
| Carlton Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 3 | 22% | D |
| Thornapple Township | 3% | 0.4 | 67 | 51% | B |
| Bowne Township | 1% | 0.1 | 64 | 22% | C+ |
| Rutland Township | 26% | 0.3 | 1,181 | 25% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Irving Township
Where can I hike in Irving Township?
The longest trail networks: Middleville State Game Area, 12.4 miles; Maher Sanctuary, 0.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Irving Township is conserved land?
18% 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 Irving Township’s trails?
Middleville State Game Area and Maher Sanctuary don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Irving Township?
2.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Irving Township?
29,594 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Irving Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4,038 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Irving Township have?
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #147 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 Irving 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 →