Boy Scout Cabin Park
Park
21 acres0.6 mi of trail
North Country Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Hoff1606 · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Lowell
8% of Lowell’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 213 acres are parks and preserves, 52 per 1,000 residents. 2.5 miles of mapped trail cross Lowell, 0.9 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns · #35 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
153 acres · of 2.9 sq mi of land
Trails
2.5 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
213 ac
52 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.2 mi
2.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
1 beach · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Lowell?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lowell have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lowell is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #35 of 701 in Michigan. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, conserved land lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lowell’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land52 acres of park per 1,000 residents (213 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 94%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 95%
Water is 7% of Lowell’s area (0 of 3 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 8%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A 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 Boy Scout Cabin Park, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Creekside Park
Managed by City of Lowell
22 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Stoney Lakeside Park
Managed by City of Lowell
15 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dogs allowed
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Recreation Park
Managed by City of Lowell
9 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Boy Scout Cabin Park21 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
Stoney Lakeside Park15 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Lowell
DirectionsCreekside Park22 acres · City of Lowell
DirectionsRecreation Park9 acres · City of Lowell
Richards Park2 acres · Lowell Department of Public Works
DirectionsSaranac-Lowell State Game Area1 acres · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Who protects it
153 conserved acres
8% of Lowell’s land. Water is left out: Lowell has 2.9 square miles of land and 0.2 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Lowell’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city153 ac
Local Park · 148 acLocal Recreation Area · 5 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stoney Lakeside Park Local Park | Town or city | 37 | Open |
| New Park Local Park | Town or city | 35 | Open |
| Creekside Park Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Upper Bridge Property Local Park | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Sliding Hill Park Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Recreation Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Richards Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Rogers Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Mcmahon Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
17 places to go in Lowell
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Lowell
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Lowell
Creekside KingdomIn Creekside Park
DirectionsLowell Rotary Club PlaygroundIn Richards Park
DirectionsPlus 9 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Lowell
Animal Hospital of Lowell Dog ParkIn Stoney Lakeside Park
DirectionsBoat launches in Lowell
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Fishing spots in Lowell
2 fishing spots without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.8 mi
North Country Trail1.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
9Baseball
6Tennis
4Soccer
2Skate park
2Basketball
1Beach volleyball
1Multi-sport
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Lowell: June to 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 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 45 | 58 | 70 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 61 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 2.9 | 2.3 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 3.9 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Lowell →
Next door
Lowell 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowell | 8% | 0.9 | 52 | 99%+ | A |
| Vergennes Township | 12% | 0.5 | 268 | 36% | A− |
| Lowell Township | 5% | 0.1 | 147 | 44% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Lowell
Where can I hike in Lowell?
The longest trail networks: Boy Scout Cabin Park, 0.6 miles; Stoney Lakeside Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lowell is conserved land?
8% 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 Lowell’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Stoney Lakeside Park. For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Lowell?
2.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Lowell?
10,470 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lowell or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 213 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Lowell have?
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #35 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 Lowell 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 →