Lake Superior State Forest - Shingleton Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
43,374 acres24.8 mi of trail
Hickey Truck TrailVe-Tr
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Manistique Township
More than half of Manistique Township’s land is conserved: 77%
77% of Manistique Township’s land is conserved, about 74,037 acres. 43,825 acres are parks and preserves, 46,573 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Lake Superior State Forest - Shingleton Unit (24.8 mi), Seney National Wildlife Refuge (3.2 mi).
Ahead of 83% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
77%
74,037 acres · of 149.9 sq mi of land
Trails
34 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
43,825 ac
46,573 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
48%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
20
1 beach · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Manistique Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Manistique Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Manistique Township is ahead of 83% 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 Manistique Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land77% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (34 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land46,573 acres of park per 1,000 residents (43,825 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home48% 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 83%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ 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 Lake Superior State Forest - Shingleton Unit, with 24.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Seney National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
30,315 acres3.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Seney Wilderness
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
20,687 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Manistique Township Park
Managed by Manistique Township
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
74,037 conserved acres
77% of Manistique Township’s land. Who manages Manistique Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service60,643 ac
State natural resources43,571 ac
Other state land72 ac
Private owners37 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits29 ac
U.S. Forest Service9 ac
National Wildlife Refuge · 60,643 acState Conservation Area · 43,545 acState Resource Management Area · 67 acPrivate Park · 37 acConservation Easement · 31 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 32 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seney National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 60,643 | Restricted |
| Shingleton State Foreset Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 43,504 | Open |
| Wyman Nursery State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 67 | Restricted |
| University of Michigan State Conservation Area | Other state land | 41 | Open |
| Saw Bill Hunt Club Private Park | Private owners | 37 | Open |
| Manistique Dune and Swale Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 29 | Open |
| Hiawatha National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 9 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Manistique Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Manistique Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Manistique Township
Merwin Creek Sfcg Boat LaunchIn Lake Superior State Forest - Shingleton Unit
DirectionsWest Branch Boat LaunchIn Lake Superior State Forest - Shingleton Unit
DirectionsCampgrounds in Manistique Township
Merwin Creek State Forest CampgroundIn Lake Superior State Forest - Shingleton Unit
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 20 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.3 miUnpaved · 4.4 mi
Hickey Truck Trail4.9 mi
Ve-Tr1.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Bear Town SloughBrassel SloughC-3 PoolreservoirCamp Nine LakesCamp Number 11 SloughCatfish SloughClear SloughClemons LakeDavis SloughDoyle LakelakeIsland Lake SloughJamestown SloughKlegstads SloughMarblehead LakeSmith LakelakeTucker LakeDriggs RiverManistique RiverStutts CreekWest Branch Manistique River
When to get out
The best walking months in Manistique Township: May, June and 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) | 9.0 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.4 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.6 |
| High (°F) | 25 | 28 | 37 | 50 | 64 | 74 | 79 | 77 | 68 | 55 | 41 | 31 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 2.9 | 2.5 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.0 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Manistique Township →
Next door
Manistique Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Seney Township338 miHiawatha Township202 miDoyle Township73 miManistique Township34 miManistique2.6 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manistique Township | 77% | 0.2 | 46,573 | 48% | A− |
| Doyle Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Hiawatha Township | 81% | 0.7 | 72,058 | 63% | A |
| Seney Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Manistique | 6% | 0.8 | 58 | 95% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Manistique Township
Where can I hike in Manistique Township?
The longest trail networks: Lake Superior State Forest - Shingleton Unit, 24.8 miles; Seney National Wildlife Refuge, 3.2 miles; Seney Wilderness, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Manistique Township is conserved land?
77% 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 Manistique Township’s trails?
Lake Superior State Forest - Shingleton Unit and Seney National Wildlife Refuge don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Manistique Township?
316,447 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Manistique Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 43,834 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Manistique Township have?
Ahead of 83% 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 Manistique 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 →