Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
8,468 acres14.3 mi of trail
Tomahawk Motorcycle Trail B Loop
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Melrose Township
Melrose Township has 31 miles of mapped trails, 1.0 for every square mile of land
56 acres are parks and preserves, 39 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit (14.3 mi), Postle Farm Preserve (2.3 mi), North Shore Natural Area (1.3 mi). 33% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
464 acres · of 32.9 sq mi of land
Trails
31 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
56 ac
39 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
33%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
2 beaches · 3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Melrose Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Melrose Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Melrose Township is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Melrose Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%C+Trails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (31 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land39 acres of park per 1,000 residents (56 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home33% 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
Water is 6% of Melrose Township’s area (2 of 35 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 B− 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 Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit, with 14.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Postle Farm Preserve
Nature preserve
98 acres2.3 mi of trail
Blue TrailGreen TrailYellow TrailRed Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
North Shore Natural Area
Nature preserve
88 acres1.3 mi of trail
North Shore Natural Area Loop
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Cedar Valley Preserve
Nature preserve
48 acres0.8 mi of trail
Cedar Valley Preserve Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Voran Family Preserve
Managed by Walloon Lake Association and Conservancy
23 acres0.8 mi of trail
Voran Family Preserve Trail
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lot
Howell-Zimmerman Preserve
Managed by Walloon Lake Association and Conservancy
14 acres0.6 mi of trail
Howell-Zimmerman Preserve TrailVoran Family Preserve Trail
Dogs on leash
No trailhead mapped yet
All 12 parks & preserves
Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit8,468 acres · 14.3 mi of trail · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Postle Farm Preserve98 acres · 2.3 mi of trail
DirectionsNorth Shore Natural Area88 acres · 1.3 mi of trail
DirectionsCedar Valley Preserve48 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsVoran Family Preserve23 acres · 0.8 mi of trail · Walloon Lake Association and Conservancy
DirectionsHowell-Zimmerman Preserve14 acres · 0.6 mi of trail · Walloon Lake Association and Conservancy
Village Green Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsFrog Hollow Preserve71 acres
Shadow Trails Natural Area33 acres
Franklin J. Helle Memorial Nature Preserve11 acres
Melrose Township Park4 acres
DirectionsEllis Woods Preserve2 acres
Who protects it
464 conserved acres
2% of Melrose Township’s land. Water is left out: Melrose Township has 32.9 square miles of land and 2.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Melrose Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources287 ac
Private owners166 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits10 ac
Town or city1 ac
State Conservation Area · 287 acPrivate Park · 166 acPrivate Conservation · 10 acLocal Park · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| MNRTF Parcel 121 State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 222 | Restricted |
| Walloon Lake Country Club Private Park | Private owners | 139 | Restricted |
| MNRTF Parcel State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 64 | Restricted |
| Springbrook Golf Club Private Park | Private owners | 27 | Restricted |
| Helle Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 10 | Open |
| Melrose Township Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Melrose Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Melrose Township
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Melrose Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Melrose Township
3 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
12 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 17.1 mi
Tomahawk Motorcycle Trail B Loop5.1 mi
North Shore Trail1.6 mi
North Shore Natural Area Loop1.0 mi
Voran Family Preserve Trail1.0 mi
Blue Trail0.8 mi
Cedar Valley Preserve Trail0.8 mi
SMT LP7630.6 mi
Green Trail0.6 mi
Yellow Trail0.6 mi
Howell-Zimmerman Preserve Trail0.5 mi
2 more trails
Red Trail
0.3 miBoyne River Nature Trail
0.1 miLakes & 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
1Tennis
1Basketball
1Beach volleyball
1Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Melrose 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 | 40 | 53 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 79 | 71 | 57 | 43 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 3.0 | 2.6 |
February is the driest month (1.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.2 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Melrose Township →
Next door
Melrose Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Chandler Township87 miBear Creek Township39 miBoyne Valley Township33 miMelrose Township31 miEvangeline Township26 miResort Township16 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melrose Township | 2% | 1.0 | 39 | 33% | B |
| Resort Township | 5% | 0.8 | 90 | 40% | B+ |
| Evangeline Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Chandler Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Bear Creek Township | 3% | 1.0 | 88 | 30% | B+ |
| Boyne Valley Township | 4% | 1.0 | 192 | 43% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Melrose Township
Where can I hike in Melrose Township?
The longest trail networks: Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit, 14.3 miles; Postle Farm Preserve, 2.3 miles; North Shore Natural Area, 1.3 miles; Cedar Valley Preserve, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Melrose Township is conserved land?
2% 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 Melrose Township’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Voran Family Preserve (on leash) and Howell-Zimmerman Preserve (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Melrose Township?
6,489 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Melrose Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 56 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Melrose 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 Melrose 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 →