Chippewa Nature Center
Nature preserve
529 acres8.8 mi of trail
Wetlands TrailConnecting PathField TrailWood Duck Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: O. David Redwine · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Midland Township
Midland Township has 15 miles of mapped trails, 2.0 for every square mile of land
579 acres are parks and preserves, 273 per 1,000 residents. 15% of Midland Township’s land is conserved, about 711 acres. The biggest trail networks: Chippewa Nature Center (8.8 mi).
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
15%
711 acres · of 7.2 sq mi of land
Trails
15 mi
2.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
579 ac
273 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
43%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.7 mi
2.5 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
8
What kind of outdoors town is Midland Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Midland Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Midland Township is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Midland Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land15% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails2.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (15 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land273 acres of park per 1,000 residents (579 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home43% 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 90%
LessMore
Water is 8% of Midland Township’s area (1 of 8 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 14%.
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 Chippewa Nature Center, with 8.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Bob Moe Little League Park
Park
23 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
711 conserved acres
15% of Midland Township’s land. Water is left out: Midland Township has 7.2 square miles of land and 0.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Midland Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits512 ac
Private owners175 ac
Town or city14 ac
Other state land10 ac
Local Conservation Area · 512 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 175 acLocal Park · 14 acState Conservation Area · 10 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chippewa Nature Center Local Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 512 | Open |
| Utility Corridor Private Other or Unknown | Private owners | 175 | Open |
| Overlook Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Forest Reserve State Conservation Area | Other state land | 10 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Midland Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Midland Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
6 named trails and 8 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Wetlands Trail1.6 mi
Connecting Path1.5 mi
Field Trail1.0 mi
Wood Duck Trail0.9 mi
Arboretum Trail0.7 mi
Sugar Bush Trail0.6 mi
Biking & sports
3.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.5 mi
off-road bike paths
1.2 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
6Baseball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Midland Township: 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 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 43 | 56 | 69 | 79 | 83 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 2.2 | 1.9 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 3.6 inches fall in August, the wettest month. The climate in Midland Township →
Next door
Midland Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midland Township | 15% | 2.0 | 273 | 43% | A |
| Midland | 9% | 2.2 | 48 | 96% | A |
| Homer Township | 9% | 0.7 | 241 | 35% | A− |
| Larkin Township | 1% | 0.6 | 28 | 17% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Midland Township
Where can I hike in Midland Township?
The longest trail networks: Chippewa Nature Center, 8.8 miles; Whiting Overlook Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Midland Township is conserved land?
15% 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 Midland Township’s trails?
Chippewa Nature Center and Bob Moe Little League Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Midland Township?
3.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.5 of off-road paths and 1.2 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Midland Township?
7,815 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Midland Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 579 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Midland Township have?
Ahead of 90% 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 Midland 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 →