Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
108 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Loeb Farms Barn Complex · Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0DOutdoors
Outdoors in Marion Township
Few parks or trails are on the map in Marion Township
7% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3 acres are parks and preserves, 1.8 per 1,000 residents. 0.9 miles of mapped trail cross Marion Township.
Ahead of 9% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
151 acres · of 25.6 sq mi of land
Trails
0.9 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
3 ac
1.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
7%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
8
2 boat launches
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Marion Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Marion Township is ahead of 9% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; conserved land comes closest.
D
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Marion Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land1.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (3 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home7% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 9%
LessMore
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Marion Township. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be D. 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Winchester Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Adams Lake Boating Access Site
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
151 conserved acres
1% of Marion Township’s land. Who manages Marion Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners77 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)46 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service21 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits7 ac
Private Park · 77 acConservation Easement · 66 acPrivate Conservation · 7 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 66 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belvedere Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 77 | Restricted |
| Winchester Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 7 | Closed |
Things to do
2 places to go in Marion Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Marion Township
Adams Lake Boat LaunchIn Adams Lake Boating Access Site
DirectionsNowland Lake Boat LaunchIn Nowland Lake Public Access
DirectionsTrails & water
8 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Loeb Farms Barn ComplexBuilding · listed 1995
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Marion 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 | 13.4 | 14.9 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.4 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 29 | 38 | 51 | 64 | 74 | 78 | 77 | 69 | 56 | 43 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 2.9 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (1.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 4.3 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Marion Township →
Next door
Marion Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Charlevoix Township17 miNorwood Township12 miEveline Township12 miBanks Township4.2 miMarion Township0.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marion Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 2 | 7% | D |
| Norwood Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Eveline Township | 2% | 0.4 | 185 | 23% | B− |
| Charlevoix Township | 26% | 2.8 | 421 | 68% | A+ |
| Banks Township | 2% | 0.1 | 45 | 29% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Marion Township
How much of Marion Township is conserved land?
1% 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 Marion Township’s trails?
Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit and Winchester Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Marion Township?
7,122 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Marion Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Marion Township have?
Ahead of 9% 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 Marion 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 →