Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
11% of Lake Township’s land is conserved, about 2,238 acres. 25 miles of mapped trail cross Lake Township, 0.8 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit (18.1 mi).
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns · #140 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lake Township is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #140 of 701 in Michigan. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
Water is 12% of Lake 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 10%.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
The longest trail network is Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit, with 18.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
11% of Lake Township’s land. Water is left out: Lake Township has 31.6 square miles of land and 4.5 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Lake Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cadillac State Forest Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 2,001 | Open |
| Missaukee Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 150 | Restricted |
| Crooked Lake County Park Local Park | County | 84 | Open |
| Missaukee County Park Local Park | County | 3 | Open |
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Plus 3 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 30 | 41 | 54 | 67 | 77 | 81 | 78 | 71 | 57 | 43 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 2.6 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 3.7 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Lake Township →
Lake Township has the second most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Township | 11% | 0.8 | 746 | 49% | A |
| Lake City | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Haring Township | 25% | 2.7 | 1,460 | 61% | A+ |
| Caldwell Township | 16% | 0.7 | 2,388 | 43% | A |
| Richland Township | 3% | 0.3 | 413 | 23% | B |
| Reeder Township | 9% | under 0.1 | 2,502 | 15% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
The longest trail networks: Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit, 18.1 miles; Crooked Lake Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
11% 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.
Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit and Crooked Lake Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
7.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 7.6 of shoulders and shared lanes.
58,549 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lake Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,118 of them inside the town line.
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #140 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.
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Lake Township neighbors.
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 →