Chi-Bro Park
Managed by Village of Manchester
16 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: LHOON from Mechelen, Belgium · CC BY-SA 2.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Manchester
9% of Manchester’s land is conserved, and 98% of residents live within a half mile of a park
100 acres are parks and preserves, 40 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Chi-Bro Park (0.5 mi). 1.6 miles of mapped trail cross Manchester, 0.7 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
120 acres · of 2.1 sq mi of land
Trails
1.6 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
100 ac
40 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.1 mi
1.3 mi lanes · 0.8 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Manchester?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Manchester have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Manchester is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns. 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 Manchester’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land40 acres of park per 1,000 residents (100 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home98% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 90%
LessMore
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 Chi-Bro Park, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Leonard Preserve
Managed by Washtenaw County
40 acres0.1 mi of trail
River Loop
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Carr Park
Managed by Village of Manchester
14 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Manchester Community Fairgrounds
Park
7 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 6 parks & preserves
Chi-Bro Park16 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Village of Manchester
DirectionsLeonard Preserve40 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Washtenaw County
DirectionsCarr Park14 acres · Village of Manchester
DirectionsManchester Community Fairgrounds7 acres
DirectionsKirk Park5 acres · Village of Manchester
DirectionsWurster Park2 acres · Village of Manchester
DirectionsWho protects it
120 conserved acres
9% of Manchester’s land. Who manages Manchester’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city45 ac
County41 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits32 ac
Other state land1 ac
Local Park · 45 acLocal Conservation Area · 41 acAgricultural Easement · 31 acConservation Easement · 2 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 33 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leonard Preserve Local Conservation Area | County | 41 | Open |
| Chi-Bro Park Local Park | Town or city | 26 | Open |
| Carr Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Kirk Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Wurster Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Manchester
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Manchester
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Biking & sports
2.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.3 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
10Baseball
4Beach volleyball
3Basketball
3Football
2Tennis
2Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Manchester
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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.2 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 45 | 58 | 70 | 79 | 83 | 80 | 74 | 61 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 3.8 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Manchester →
Questions about parks and trails in Manchester
Where can I hike in Manchester?
The longest trail networks: Chi-Bro Park, 0.5 miles; Leonard Preserve, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Manchester is conserved land?
9% 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 Manchester’s trails?
Chi-Bro Park and Leonard Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Manchester?
2.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.3 of painted or protected lanes and 0.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Manchester?
9,603 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Manchester or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 100 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Manchester 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 Manchester 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 →