Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
1,809 acres1.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Maple River Township
Maple River Township has 461 acres of parks, 349 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit (1.8 mi). 24% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 14 miles of mapped trail cross Maple River Township, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
805 acres · of 35.3 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
461 ac
349 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
24%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.0 mi
6.0 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Maple River Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Maple River Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Maple River Township is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Maple River Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land349 acres of park per 1,000 residents (461 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home24% 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 60%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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 Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit, with 1.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
University of Michigan Biological Station
Nature preserve
318 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Philip J. Braun Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
133 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit1,809 acres · 1.8 mi of trail · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Philip J. Braun Nature Preserve133 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
University of Michigan Biological Station318 acres
Pioneer Park45 acres
DirectionsUh-ni-nah-tig ziibing Nature Preserve37 acres
Philip J. Braun South Nature Preserve32 acres
Albert E. Kuebler & Daughter Marce Nature Preserve18 acres
Who protects it
805 conserved acres
4% of Maple River Township’s land. Who manages Maple River Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land325 ac
Private owners293 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits175 ac
Town or city12 ac
State Conservation Area · 323 acPrivate Park · 293 acPrivate Conservation · 175 acLocal Park · 12 acConservation Easement · 3 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 3 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 9 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Michigan Biological Station State Conservation Area | Other state land | 323 | Open |
| Hidden River Golf and Casting Club Private Park | Private owners | 156 | Restricted |
| Maple River Golf Club Private Park | Private owners | 136 | Restricted |
| Philip J Braun Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 126 | Unknown |
| Philip J Braun South Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 31 | Open |
| Albert E. Kuebler & Daughter Marce Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 18 | Open |
| Pioneer Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Maple River Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Maple River Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
3 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
6.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
6.0 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
4Baseball
2Football
1Skate park
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Maple River Township: May to 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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 26 | 28 | 38 | 51 | 65 | 75 | 79 | 77 | 70 | 56 | 43 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 1.9 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 2.7 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (1.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.1 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Maple River Township →
Next door
Maple River Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Pleasantview Township125 miLittle Traverse Township44 miBurt Township30 miMcKinley Township23 miLittlefield Township16 miMaple River Township14 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maple River Township | 4% | 0.4 | 349 | 24% | B |
| Littlefield Township | 8% | 0.7 | 100 | 48% | A− |
| Pleasantview Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| McKinley Township | 13% | 0.6 | 2,328 | 74% | A |
| Burt Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Little Traverse Township | 12% | 2.4 | 276 | 53% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Maple River Township
Where can I hike in Maple River Township?
The longest trail networks: Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit, 1.8 miles; Philip J. Braun Nature Preserve, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Maple River Township is conserved land?
4% 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 Maple River Township’s trails?
Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit and University of Michigan Biological Station don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Maple River Township?
6.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 6.0 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Maple River Township?
14,882 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Maple River Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 461 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Maple River Township have?
Ahead of 60% 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 Maple River 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 →