Huron National Forest
Managed by United States Forest Service
81,937 acres253.1 mi of trail
Shore to Shore TrailMack Lake Loop TrailORV TrailWolf Creek Hiking Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Mentor Township
More than half of Mentor Township’s land is conserved: 90%
90% of Mentor Township’s land is conserved, about 82,122 acres. 374 acres are parks and preserves, 391 per 1,000 residents. 266 miles of mapped trail cross Mentor Township, 1.9 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
90%
82,122 acres · of 142.0 sq mi of land
Trails
266 mi
1.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
374 ac
391 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
38%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
8
1 beach · 3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Mentor Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Mentor Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Mentor Township is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Mentor Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land90% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (266 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land391 acres of park per 1,000 residents (374 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home38% 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 93%
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 Huron National Forest, with 253.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
M33 Roadside Park
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
9 acres0.3 mi of trail
Pussytoe Hiking TrailWolf Creek Hiking Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Blaze Farhat Wildlife Preserve
Park
356 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Joseph Pillars Park
Managed by Big Creek Township
5 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
All 5 parks & preserves
Huron National Forest81,937 acres · 253.1 mi of trail · United States Forest Service
DirectionsM33 Roadside Park9 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsJoseph Pillars Park5 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Big Creek Township
DirectionsBlaze Farhat Wildlife Preserve356 acres
Community Playground2 acres · Oscoda County
DirectionsWho protects it
82,122 conserved acres
90% of Mentor Township’s land. Who manages Mentor Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service81,972 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits154 ac
National Forest · 81,933 acConservation Easement · 193 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 189 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Huron National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 81,933 | Open |
Things to do
16 places to go in Mentor Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Mentor Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Mentor Township
1 playground without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Mentor Township
Comins Flats Boat Access
DirectionsPlus 2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Fishing spots in Mentor Township
1 fishing spot without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Mentor Township
2 scenic views without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Mentor Township
Au Sable Loop CampgroundIn Huron National Forest · United States Forest Service
DirectionsBear Island Primitive CampsiteHours: Apr 1 - Nov 30 00:00-24:00 · In Huron National Forest · USFS
DirectionsButtercup CampgroundIn Huron National Forest · United States Forest Service
DirectionsCathedral Pines CampgroundIn Huron National Forest · United States Forest Service
DirectionsMack Lake ORV CampgroundIn Huron National Forest
DirectionsMcKinley Horse Trail CampgroundIn Huron National Forest
DirectionsMeadow Springs CampgroundIn Huron National Forest · United States Forest Service
DirectionsRiver Dune CampgroundIn Huron National Forest · United States Forest Service
DirectionsTrails & water
25 named trails and 8 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 4.7 miHorses · 21.8 miUnpaved · 63.1 mi
Shore to Shore Trail17.0 mi
Mack Lake Loop Trail12.4 mi
ORV Trail6.5 mi
Wolf Creek Hiking Trail3.5 mi
Six Mile Grade3.2 mi
Mack - Bull Gap Trail2.9 mi
Mack - Tabor Trail1.6 mi
Valley View1.6 mi
Forest Road 48361.5 mi
Leaky Hills1.0 mi
15 more trails
Forest Rd 4013
1.0 miMark's Run
0.9 miLoud Creek Lazy 8 North
0.8 miLoud Creek Circle
0.8 miFireweed Hiking Trail
0.8 miFirr Trail
0.7 miLoud Creek Long Grades
0.7 miBull Gap Return Loop
0.7 miForest Rd 4853
0.6 miAlcona ORV Trail
0.6 miLoud Creek South Lazy 8
0.5 miForest Rd 4856
0.5 miWood Turtle Trail
0.5 miShiroda Trail
0.5 miFed Trl 4291
0.4 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
2Beach volleyball
2Basketball
1Tennis
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Mentor Township: May, June, August 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 26 | 29 | 40 | 53 | 66 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 70 | 56 | 42 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 2.2 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 3.4 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Mentor Township →
Next door
Mentor Township and its neighbors
Mentor Township has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Big Creek Township281 miMentor Township266 miMitchell Township224 miCurtis Township94 miComins Township87 miRose Township66 miGoodar Township46 miMio11 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mentor Township | 90% | 1.9 | 391 | 38% | A |
| Comins Township | 21% | 1.2 | 378 | 26% | A |
| Mitchell Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Big Creek Township | 69% | 2.0 | 48 | 40% | A |
| Rose Township | 27% | 1.2 | 51 | 26% | A− |
| Goodar Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Mio | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Curtis Township | 47% | 1.4 | 494 | 3% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Mentor Township
Where can I hike in Mentor Township?
The longest trail networks: Huron National Forest, 253.1 miles; M33 Roadside Park, 0.3 miles; Joseph Pillars Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Mentor Township is conserved land?
90% 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 Mentor Township’s trails?
Huron National Forest and M33 Roadside Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Mentor Township?
243,578 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Mentor Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 77,394 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Mentor Township have?
Ahead of 93% 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 Mentor 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 →