Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
3,017 acres5.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Lincoln Township
Lincoln Township has 472 acres of parks, 186 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit (5.2 mi), Averill Reserve (1.1 mi). 12 miles of mapped trail cross Lincoln Township, 0.5 per square mile of land. 50% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 69% of U.S. towns · #296 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
539 acres · of 23.3 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
472 ac
186 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
50%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.1 mi
2.5 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Lincoln Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lincoln Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lincoln Township is ahead of 69% of U.S. towns, #296 of 701 in Michigan. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lincoln Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land186 acres of park per 1,000 residents (472 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home50% 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 69%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 58%
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 Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit, with 5.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Averill Reserve
Managed by Little Forks Conservancy
72 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
539 conserved acres
4% of Lincoln Township’s land. Who manages Lincoln Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County353 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits74 ac
Other state land51 ac
Town or city38 ac
Private owners29 ac
Local Resource Management Area · 353 acPrivate Conservation · 74 acConservation Easement · 51 acLocal Park · 38 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 29 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 46 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local Forest Local Resource Management Area | County | 353 | Open |
| Averill Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 74 | Open |
| Township of Lincoln Park Local Park | Town or city | 38 | Open |
| Utility Corridor Private Other or Unknown | Private owners | 29 | Open |
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
5.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.5 mi
off-road bike paths
2.6 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
When to get out
The best walking months in Lincoln 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 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 32 | 43 | 56 | 69 | 79 | 83 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 1.9 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 3.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Lincoln Township →
Next door
Lincoln Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Midland75 miJerome Township33 miLarkin Township19 miLincoln Township12 miSanford2.0 miHope Township1.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln Township | 4% | 0.5 | 186 | 50% | B+ |
| Midland | 9% | 2.2 | 48 | 96% | A |
| Larkin Township | 1% | 0.6 | 28 | 17% | C+ |
| Jerome Township | 6% | 1.0 | 281 | 37% | A− |
| Sanford | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Hope Township | 4% | under 0.1 | 374 | under 1% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Lincoln Township
Where can I hike in Lincoln Township?
The longest trail networks: Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit, 5.2 miles; Averill Reserve, 1.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lincoln Township is conserved land?
4% 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 Lincoln Township’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Averill Reserve (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Lincoln Township?
5.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.5 of off-road paths and 2.6 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Lincoln Township?
11,601 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lincoln Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 472 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Lincoln Township have?
Ahead of 69% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #296 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 Lincoln 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 →