Lake Superior State Forest - Newberry Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
8,278 acres24.2 mi of trail
Sandtown Motorcycle TrailCounty Highway 468
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Lakefield Township
Lakefield Township has 8,409 acres of parks, 7,370 for every 1,000 residents
21% of Lakefield Township’s land is conserved, about 8,314 acres. The biggest trail networks: Lake Superior State Forest - Newberry Unit (24.2 mi). 48 miles of mapped trail cross Lakefield Township, 0.8 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
21%
8,314 acres · of 63.2 sq mi of land
Trails
48 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
8,409 ac
7,370 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
40%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
10
4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Lakefield Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lakefield Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lakefield Township is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns. 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 Lakefield Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land21% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (48 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land7,370 acres of park per 1,000 residents (8,409 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home40% 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 87%
LessMore
Water is 12% of Lakefield Township’s area (9 of 72 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 18%.
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 Lake Superior State Forest - Newberry Unit, with 24.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lake Superior State Forest - Sault Ste. Marie Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
6 acres0.1 mi of trail
County Road 468
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
County Line Manistique Lake Boating Access Site
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
8,314 conserved acres
21% of Lakefield Township’s land. Water is left out: Lakefield Township has 63.2 square miles of land and 8.8 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Lakefield Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources8,213 ac
County101 ac
State Conservation Area · 8,213 acLocal Park · 101 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newberry State Forest Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 8,213 | Open |
| Luce County Park Local Park | County | 101 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Lakefield Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Lakefield Township
County Line Manistique Lake Boat Launch
DirectionsEast Lake Boat Launch
DirectionsLuce County Park Boat Launch
DirectionsManistique Lake-north Boat Launch
DirectionsCampgrounds in Lakefield Township
1 campground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
4 named trails and 10 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 4.1 mi
Sandtown Motorcycle Trail7.9 mi
County Road 4130.7 mi
County Highway 4680.3 mi
County Road 4680.1 mi
When to get out
The best walking months in Lakefield Township: May, June 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 | 15.0 | 15.8 | 15.4 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.6 |
| High (°F) | 24 | 27 | 37 | 49 | 63 | 73 | 78 | 76 | 67 | 54 | 40 | 30 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 2.9 | 2.5 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 4.1 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Lakefield Township →
Next door
Lakefield Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Columbus Township153 miPentland Township121 miPortage Township52 miGermfask Township52 miLakefield Township48 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakefield Township | 21% | 0.8 | 7,370 | 40% | A |
| Columbus Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Portage Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Pentland Township | 61% | 1.1 | 16,440 | 50% | A |
| Germfask Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Lakefield Township
Where can I hike in Lakefield Township?
The longest trail networks: Lake Superior State Forest - Newberry Unit, 24.2 miles; Lake Superior State Forest - Sault Ste. Marie Unit, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lakefield Township is conserved land?
21% 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 Lakefield Township’s trails?
Lake Superior State Forest - Newberry Unit and Luce County Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Lakefield Township?
140,600 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lakefield Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 8,409 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Lakefield Township have?
Ahead of 87% 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 Lakefield 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 →