Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
52 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
DOutdoors
Outdoors in Livingston Township
Livingston Township has 19 miles of mapped trails, 0.5 for every square mile of land
9% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit (0.5 mi).
Ahead of 13% of U.S. towns · #669 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
1 acre · of 33.8 sq mi of land
Trails
19 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Near a park
9%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.5 mi
6.5 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
9
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Livingston Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Livingston Township is ahead of 13% of U.S. towns, #669 of 701 in Michigan. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
D
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Livingston Township’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%DTrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (19 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land0.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (0 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13DParks close to home9% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 13%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 5%
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Livingston Township. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. 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 Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
1 conserved acres
under 1% of Livingston Township’s land. Who manages Livingston Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city1 ac
Local Recreation Area · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairview Sport Fields Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Livingston Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Community gardens in Livingston Township
Otsego County Demonstration Garden
DirectionsTrails & water
9 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
6.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
6.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Soccer
2Tracks
2Baseball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Livingston Township: May to 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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 25 | 27 | 38 | 51 | 65 | 75 | 78 | 76 | 69 | 55 | 41 | 30 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 2.8 | 2.5 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 3.8 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Livingston Township →
Next door
Livingston Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Corwith Township172 miElmira Township29 miBagley Township22 miDover Township22 miLivingston Township19 miGaylord7.8 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Livingston Township | under 1% | 0.5 | under 1 | 9% | D |
| Gaylord | 11% | 1.5 | 53 | 96% | A+ |
| Dover Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Corwith Township | 48% | 1.6 | 19,421 | 35% | A |
| Bagley Township | 3% | 0.8 | 10 | 18% | C+ |
| Elmira Township | 1% | 0.8 | under 1 | 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 Livingston Township
Where can I hike in Livingston Township?
The longest trail networks: Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Livingston Township is conserved land?
under 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 Livingston Township’s trails?
Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Livingston Township?
6.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 6.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Livingston Township?
35,040 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Livingston Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), almost none of it inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Livingston Township have?
Ahead of 13% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #669 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 Livingston 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 →