Cowboy Lake Park
Park
31 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri · CC BY 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Kingsford
Kingsford has 86 acres of parks, 17 for every 1,000 residents
83% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.7 miles of mapped trail cross Kingsford, 0.2 per square mile of land. 3% of Kingsford’s land is conserved, about 77 acres.
Ahead of 53% of U.S. towns · #417 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
77 acres · of 4.3 sq mi of land
Trails
0.7 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
86 ac
17 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
83%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.6 mi
0.6 mi lanes
Lakes & rivers
2
3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Kingsford?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Kingsford have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Kingsford is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns, #417 of 701 in Michigan. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Kingsford’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land17 acres of park per 1,000 residents (86 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13BParks close to home83% 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 53%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 41%
Water is 6% of Kingsford’s area (0 of 5 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 3%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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 Cowboy Lake Park, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lodal Park
Park
21 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Ford Park
Park
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Cowboy Lake Park31 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Lodal Park21 acres
Menominee River Recreation Area7 acres
DirectionsFord Park6 acres
Flivver Field5 acres
Balzola Field4 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
77 conserved acres
3% of Kingsford’s land. Water is left out: Kingsford has 4.3 square miles of land and 0.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Kingsford’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city74 ac
Other state land3 ac
Local Park · 68 acLocal Recreation Area · 5 acConservation Easement · 3 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cowboy Lake Park Local Park | Town or city | 35 | Open |
| Lodal Park Local Park | Town or city | 21 | Open |
| Ford Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Menominee River Recreation Area Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Balzola Fields Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 5 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Kingsford
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Kingsford
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Kingsford
Cowboy Lake Boat Launch
DirectionsPlus 2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.6 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
15Tennis
4Baseball
3Soccer
3Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Kingsford: May and 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) | 9.0 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.4 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 23 | 28 | 39 | 52 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 69 | 55 | 40 | 28 |
| Rain (in) | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 1.9 | 1.4 |
February is the driest month (1.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 3.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Kingsford →
Next door
Kingsford and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingsford | 3% | 0.2 | 17 | 83% | B− |
| Breitung Township | 15% | 1.0 | 1,039 | 52% | A |
| Iron Mountain | 2% | 3.1 | 14 | 78% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Kingsford
Where can I hike in Kingsford?
The longest trail networks: Cowboy Lake Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Kingsford is conserved land?
3% 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 Kingsford’s trails?
Cowboy Lake Park and Lodal Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Kingsford?
0.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.6 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Kingsford?
83,411 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Kingsford or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 86 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Kingsford have?
Ahead of 53% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #417 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 Kingsford 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 →