Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
2,450 acres7.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Ball Road-Little Salt Creek Bridge · Photo: O. David Redwine · CC BY-SA 3.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Jasper Township
Jasper Township has 138 acres of parks, 149 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit (7.5 mi). 11% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 13 miles of mapped trail cross Jasper Township, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 42% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
141 acres · of 35.9 sq mi of land
Trails
13 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
138 ac
149 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
11%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Jasper Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Jasper Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Jasper Township is ahead of 42% 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 Jasper Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (13 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land149 acres of park per 1,000 residents (138 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home11% 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 42%
LessMore
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 7.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
141 conserved acres
1% of Jasper Township’s land. Who manages Jasper Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners123 ac
Other state land12 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits6 ac
Private Park · 123 acState Conservation Area · 12 acConservation Easement · 6 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deerless Acres Club Private Park | Private owners | 123 | Open |
| State Forest State Conservation Area | Other state land | 12 | Open |
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Ball Road-Little Salt Creek BridgeStructure · listed 1999
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Jasper 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) | 9.3 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 32 | 43 | 57 | 69 | 79 | 83 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 2.4 | 1.9 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 3.7 inches fall in August, the wettest month. The climate in Jasper Township →
Next door
Jasper Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Greendale Township26 miPorter Township20 miJasper Township13 miCoe Township3.8 miBethany Township1.5 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jasper Township | 1% | 0.4 | 149 | 11% | C+ |
| Porter Township | 3% | 0.6 | 270 | 13% | B |
| Greendale Township | 1% | 0.7 | 130 | 29% | B |
| Coe Township | 1% | 0.1 | 16 | 55% | C |
| Bethany Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 43 | 15% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Jasper Township
Where can I hike in Jasper Township?
The longest trail networks: Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit, 7.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Jasper 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 Jasper Township’s trails?
Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Jasper Township?
3,239 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Jasper Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 138 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Jasper Township have?
Ahead of 42% 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 Jasper 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 →