Cartier Park
Managed by City of Ludington
116 acres4.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
S.S. BADGER (carferry) · Photo: Lynnewu · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Ludington
Ludington has 5.5 miles of mapped trails, 1.6 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Cartier Park (4.2 mi), Stearns Park (0.5 mi). 86% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 186 acres are parks and preserves, 24 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns · #130 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
130 acres · of 3.4 sq mi of land
Trails
5.5 mi
1.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
186 ac
24 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
86%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.9 mi
0.9 mi lanes
Lakes & rivers
2
3 beaches · 3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Ludington?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ludington have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ludington is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #130 of 701 in Michigan. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, conserved land lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ludington’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land24 acres of park per 1,000 residents (186 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home86% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 86%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 82%
Water is 7% of Ludington’s area (0 of 4 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 6%.
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 Cartier Park, with 4.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Copeyon Park
Managed by City of Ludington
4 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 6 parks & preserves
Cartier Park116 acres · 4.2 mi of trail · City of Ludington
DirectionsStearns Park27 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsCopeyon Park4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Ludington
DirectionsRotary Park4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsWaterfront Park7 acres
DirectionsLevouix Memorial Park1 acres
Who protects it
130 conserved acres
6% of Ludington’s land. Water is left out: Ludington has 3.4 square miles of land and 0.2 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Ludington’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city130 ac
Local Park · 130 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cartier Park Local Park | Town or city | 69 | Open |
| Stearns Park Local Park | Town or city | 23 | Open |
| Oriole Field Local Park | Town or city | 23 | Open |
| Waterfront Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Copeyon Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| City Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
Things to do
13 places to go in Ludington
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Ludington
3 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Ludington
6 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Ludington
3 boat launches without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Ludington
Cartier Park CampgroundIn Cartier Park · City of Ludington
DirectionsTrails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
5.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.9 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
5.0 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
14Tennis
14Soccer
5Baseball
3Pickleball
2Softball
2Football
2Basketball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →7 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Mason County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1988
About itLudington North Breakwater LightStructure · listed 2005
About itLudington United States Coast Guard StationBuilding · listed 2010
About itWilliam A. and Catherine Cartier HouseBuilding · listed 2014
About itHaskell Manufacturing Company BuildingBuilding · listed 2020
About itEast Ludington Avenue Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2022
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Ludington: May 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 31 | 40 | 52 | 64 | 74 | 78 | 76 | 70 | 57 | 44 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 3.1 | 2.3 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 3.9 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Ludington →
Next door
Ludington and its neighbors
Ludington has the second most mapped trails of the 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ludington | 6% | 1.6 | 24 | 86% | A |
| Pere Marquette Township | 3% | 1.1 | 301 | 53% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Ludington
Where can I hike in Ludington?
The longest trail networks: Cartier Park, 4.2 miles; Stearns Park, 0.5 miles; Copeyon Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ludington is conserved land?
6% 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 Ludington’s trails?
Cartier Park and Stearns Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Ludington?
5.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.9 of painted or protected lanes and 5.0 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Ludington?
8,381 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ludington or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 186 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Ludington have?
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #130 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 Ludington 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 →