Brower Park
Managed by Mecosta County
163 acres1.9 mi of trail
The Brower LoopThe Dragon Trail - Segment #5
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Mecosta Township
Mecosta Township has 214 acres of parks, 76 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Brower Park (1.9 mi). 17% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 16 miles of mapped trail cross Mecosta Township, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 53% of U.S. towns · #422 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
550 acres · of 34.0 sq mi of land
Trails
16 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
214 ac
76 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
17%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.2 mi
4.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
1 beach · 7 boat launches
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Mecosta Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Mecosta Township is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns, #422 of 701 in Michigan. 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 Mecosta Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (16 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land76 acres of park per 1,000 residents (214 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home17% 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 53%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 40%
Water is 5% of Mecosta Township’s area (2 of 36 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 2%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. 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 Brower Park, with 1.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Davis Bridge Park
Managed by Mecosta County
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Rogers Dam Pond Public Access
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
550 conserved acres
3% of Mecosta Township’s land. Water is left out: Mecosta Township has 34.0 square miles of land and 1.9 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Mecosta Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service508 ac
Other state land41 ac
National Forest · 508 acState Conservation Area · 41 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manistee National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 508 | Open |
| Forest Reserve State Conservation Area | Other state land | 41 | Open |
Things to do
12 places to go in Mecosta Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Mecosta Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Mecosta Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Mecosta Township
Rogers Dam Pond Boat Launch
DirectionsPlus 6 boat launches without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Mecosta Township
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Mecosta Township
Brower Park CampgroundIn Brower Park · Mecosta County
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 11.1 miUnpaved · 13.3 mi
The Dragon Trail - Segment #55.4 mi
The Dragon Trail - Segment #73.0 mi
The Brower Loop1.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.2 mi
off-road bike paths
The DragonBike route
9.1 miCourts & fields
5Tennis
2Beach volleyball
2Baseball
1Basketball
1Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Mecosta Township: June, July and 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) | 9.3 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 32 | 43 | 56 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 59 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 3.8 | 3.0 | 2.3 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.8 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Mecosta Township →
Next door
Mecosta Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Austin Township37 miGoodwell Township26 miAetna Township18 miMecosta Township16 miBig Rapids Township3.5 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mecosta Township | 3% | 0.5 | 76 | 17% | B− |
| Big Rapids Township | 4% | 0.1 | 42 | 28% | C+ |
| Austin Township | 7% | 1.0 | 1,096 | 36% | A− |
| Goodwell Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Aetna Township | 14% | 0.5 | 135 | 9% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Mecosta Township
Where can I hike in Mecosta Township?
The longest trail networks: Brower Park, 1.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Mecosta Township is conserved land?
3% 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 Mecosta Township’s trails?
Brower Park and Davis Bridge Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Mecosta Township?
4.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.2 of off-road paths. Named routes: The Dragon.
Is there public land near Mecosta Township?
42,915 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Mecosta Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 726 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Mecosta Township have?
Ahead of 53% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #422 of 701 in Michigan. 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 Mecosta 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 →