Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
14,652 acres85.4 mi of trail
West Higgins TrailWest Higgins RoutePinewood Drive West
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Lyon Township
Lyon Township has 3,939 acres of parks, 3,051 for every 1,000 residents
93 miles of mapped trail cross Lyon Township, 3.1 per square mile of land. 20% of Lyon Township’s land is conserved, about 3,921 acres. The biggest trail networks: Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit (85.4 mi).
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
20%
3,921 acres · of 30.0 sq mi of land
Trails
93 mi
3.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
3,939 ac
3,051 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
22%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Lyon Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lyon Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lyon Township is ahead of 90% 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 Lyon Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land20% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails3.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (93 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land3,051 acres of park per 1,000 residents (3,939 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home22% 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 90%
LessMore
Water is 18% of Lyon Township’s area (7 of 37 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 17%.
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 Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit, with 85.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Au Sable State Forest - Grayling Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
2 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
1 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit14,652 acres · 85.4 mi of trail · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsAu Sable State Forest - Grayling Unit2 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Lyon Township Park13 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsPere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
North Higgins Lake State Park1 acres
Who protects it
3,921 conserved acres
20% of Lyon Township’s land. Water is left out: Lyon Township has 30.0 square miles of land and 6.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Lyon Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources3,920 ac
Private owners1 ac
State Conservation Area · 3,920 acPrivate Park · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural Area Dead Stream Swamp State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 3,918 | Open |
| Cadillac State Forest Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 2 | Open |
| Eureka Hunt Club Private Park | Private owners | 1 | Open |
Things to do
10 places to go in Lyon Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Dog parks in Lyon Township
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Lyon Township
9 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
3 named trails
Named trails
Unpaved · 20.0 mi
West Higgins Trail17.5 mi
West Higgins Route5.3 mi
Pinewood Drive West0.4 mi
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Lyon Township: May and July 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 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 30 | 41 | 54 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 71 | 57 | 43 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 3.7 | 2.6 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 3.7 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Lyon Township →
Next door
Lyon Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Beaver Creek Township198 miNorwich Township128 miLyon Township93 miEnterprise Township24 miGerrish Township24 miMarkey Township16 miLake Township9.6 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lyon Township | 20% | 3.1 | 3,051 | 22% | A |
| Gerrish Township | 5% | 0.9 | 297 | 9% | B+ |
| Beaver Creek Township | 3% | 2.8 | 330 | 10% | B+ |
| Lake Township | 32% | 0.4 | 3,982 | 68% | A |
| Norwich Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Enterprise Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Markey Township | 9% | 0.5 | 533 | 57% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Lyon Township
Where can I hike in Lyon Township?
The longest trail networks: Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit, 85.4 miles; Au Sable State Forest - Grayling Unit, 0.3 miles; Lyon Township Park, 0.1 miles; Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lyon Township is conserved land?
20% 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 Lyon Township’s trails?
Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit and Au Sable State Forest - Grayling Unit don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Lyon Township?
74,722 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lyon Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,939 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Lyon Township have?
Ahead of 90% 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 Lyon 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 →