Osceola Missaukee Grasslands State Game Area
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
964 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Marion Township
Marion Township has 2,616 acres of parks, 2,051 for every 1,000 residents
13% of Marion Township’s land is conserved, about 3,045 acres. 1.9 miles of mapped trail cross Marion Township, 0.1 per square mile of land. 70% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
3,045 acres · of 37.0 sq mi of land
Trails
1.9 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,616 ac
2,051 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
70%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Marion Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
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 73% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Marion Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land2,051 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,616 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home70% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 73%
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
259 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
3,045 conserved acres
13% of Marion Township’s land. Who manages Marion Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners1,631 ac
State fish & wildlife1,020 ac
State natural resources260 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits49 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service44 ac
Town or city42 ac
State Conservation Area · 1,280 acPrivate Park · 1,227 acPrivate Conservation · 453 acConservation Easement · 44 acLocal Park · 42 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 44 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Osceola-Missaukee Grasslands State Game Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 1,020 | Open |
| Deer and Aspen Club Private Park | Private owners | 946 | Open |
| Mighty Nimrod Preserve Private Conservation | Private owners | 404 | Closed |
| Cadillac State Forest Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 260 | Open |
| Marion Hunt Club Private Park | Private owners | 200 | Open |
| Marion Rod and Gun Club Private Park | Private owners | 81 | Open |
| Osceola Woods Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 49 | Open |
| Land Local Park | Town or city | 42 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Marion Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Marion 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
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
4Baseball
2Basketball
1Equestrian
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Marion Township: May 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 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 31 | 41 | 55 | 68 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 58 | 44 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 3.6 inches fall in April, the wettest month. The climate in Marion Township →
Next door
Marion Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Winterfield Township39 miHighland Township5.5 miRiverside Township4.5 miMiddle Branch Township2.5 miMarion Township1.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marion Township | 13% | 0.1 | 2,051 | 70% | B+ |
| Middle Branch Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Highland Township | under 1% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Winterfield Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Riverside Township | 1% | 0.1 | under 1 | 7% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Marion Township
Where can I hike in Marion Township?
The longest trail networks: Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Marion Township is conserved land?
13% 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?
Osceola Missaukee Grasslands State Game Area and Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Marion Township?
30,601 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Marion Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,616 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Marion Township have?
Ahead of 73% 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 →