Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
7,125 acres6.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
AOutdoors
Outdoors in McKinley Township
McKinley Township has 3,021 acres of parks, 2,328 for every 1,000 residents
13% of McKinley Township’s land is conserved, about 2,993 acres. The biggest trail networks: Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit (6.5 mi), University of Michigan Biological Station (5.5 mi). 23 miles of mapped trail cross McKinley Township, 0.6 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
2,993 acres · of 35.1 sq mi of land
Trails
23 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
3,021 ac
2,328 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
74%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.0 mi
6.0 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
4
What kind of outdoors town is McKinley Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does McKinley Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, McKinley Township is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of McKinley Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (23 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land2,328 acres of park per 1,000 residents (3,021 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home74% 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 91%
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 Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit, with 6.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
University of Michigan Biological Station
Nature preserve
2,873 acres5.5 mi of trail
East Branch Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Bryan Wildlife Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
167 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Mckinley Township Park
Park
8 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit7,125 acres · 6.5 mi of trail · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsUniversity of Michigan Biological Station2,873 acres · 5.5 mi of trail
DirectionsBryan Wildlife Nature Preserve167 acres
Mckinley Township Park8 acres
Memorial Park2 acres · Village of Pellston
DirectionsWho protects it
2,993 conserved acres
13% of McKinley Township’s land. Who manages McKinley Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land2,818 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits168 ac
Town or city10 ac
State Conservation Area · 2,818 acPrivate Conservation · 168 acLocal Park · 10 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Michigan Biological Station State Conservation Area | Other state land | 2,818 | Open |
| Bryan Wildlife Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 168 | Open |
| McKinley Township Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in McKinley Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in McKinley Township
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.8 mi
East Branch Trail0.5 mi
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
2Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in McKinley 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 | 69 | 56 | 43 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 1.8 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 2.6 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.1 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in McKinley Township →
Next door
McKinley Township and its neighbors
McKinley Township has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Munro Township32 miMcKinley Township23 miMaple River Township14 miCarp Lake Township13 miCenter Township12 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McKinley Township | 13% | 0.6 | 2,328 | 74% | A |
| Center Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Carp Lake Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Maple River Township | 4% | 0.4 | 349 | 24% | B |
| Munro Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in McKinley Township
Where can I hike in McKinley Township?
The longest trail networks: Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit, 6.5 miles; University of Michigan Biological Station, 5.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of McKinley 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 McKinley 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 McKinley Township?
6.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 6.0 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near McKinley Township?
31,001 acres of parks and open public land lie inside McKinley Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,021 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does McKinley Township have?
Ahead of 91% 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 McKinley 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 →