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North Milford Village Historic DistrictNorth Milford Village Historic District · Photo: Traveler100 · CC BY-SA 3.0
A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Milford Township

Milford Township has 101 miles of mapped trails, 3.1 for every square mile of land

5,536 acres are parks and preserves, 323 per 1,000 residents. 26% of Milford Township’s land is conserved, about 5,600 acres. The biggest trail networks: Kensington Metropark (50.5 mi), Proud Lake State Recreation Area (26.5 mi), Hubbell Pond Park (4.2 mi).

Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns · #13 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

Conserved land
26%
5,600 acres · of 33.0 sq mi of land
Trails
101 mi
3.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
5,536 ac
323 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
68%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
19 mi
0.7 mi lanes · 18 mi paths
Highest peak
1,020 ft
Mont Beau
Lakes & rivers
11
10 beaches · 19 boat launches

What kind of outdoors town is Milford Township?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

A trail town3.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 97% of U.S. towns.Land that stays wild26% of the land is conserved; a typical Michigan town, 5%.Room to roam323 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.A beach town4 named beaches on the map.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Milford Township have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Milford Township is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #13 of 701 in Michigan. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.

A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Milford Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land26% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails3.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (101 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land323 acres of park per 1,000 residents (5,536 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home68% 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 96%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 98%

Water is 6% of Milford 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 25%.

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.

123456
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 Kensington Metropark, with 50.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Kensington Metropark

Park
3,749 acres50.5 mi of trail
South TrailWest TrailMilford Mountain Bike TrailEast Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Proud Lake State Recreation Area

Park
1,086 acres26.5 mi of trail
Loop 4Loop 3Loop 2Chief Pontiac Hiking Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Hubbell Pond Park

Park
105 acres4.2 mi of trail
Milford Mountain Bike Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Highland State Recreation Area

Park
125 acres2 mi of trail
Milford Connector
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Central Park

Park
19 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 9 parks & preserves
Kensington Metropark3,749 acres · 50.5 mi of trail
Directions
Proud Lake State Recreation Area1,086 acres · 26.5 mi of trail
Directions
Hubbell Pond Park105 acres · 4.2 mi of trail
Directions
Camp Dearborn613 acres · 4 mi of trail
Directions
Highland State Recreation Area125 acres · 2 mi of trail
Directions
Central Park19 acres · 1 mi of trail
Directions
Fairgrounds Park4 acres
Southside Park2 acres
Directions
Arthur's Park1 acres
Directions
Who protects it

5,600 conserved acres

26% of Milford Township’s land. Water is left out: Milford Township has 33.0 square miles of land and 2.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Milford Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

Town or city4,151 ac
State natural resources1,193 ac
Private owners221 ac
Other state land53 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits10 ac
County2 ac
Local Park · 3,643 acState Recreation Area · 1,203 acLocal Recreation Area · 509 acPrivate Park · 221 acConservation Easement · 53 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 55 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Kensington Metropark
Local Park
Town or city3,469Open
Proud Lake State Recreation Area
State Recreation Area
State natural resources1,066Open
Camp Dearborn
Local Recreation Area
Town or city474Open
Mystic Creek Golf Course
Private Park
Private owners221Restricted
Hubbell Pond Park
Local Park
Town or city152Open
Highland State Recreation Area
State Recreation Area
State natural resources127Open
Kensington Metropark Golf Course
Local Recreation Area
Town or city33Restricted
Central Park
Local Park
Town or city17Open
Huron Valley Trail
State Recreation Area
Land trusts & nonprofits10Open
Fairgrounds Park
Local Park
Town or city3Open

3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.

Things to do

112 places to go in Milford Township

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Beaches in Milford Township
Campers BeachIn Camp Dearborn
Directions
Maple BeachIn Kensington Metropark
Directions
Martindale BeachIn Kensington Metropark
Directions
Public BeachIn Camp Dearborn
Directions

Plus 6 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.

Trails & water

25 named trails and 11 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Open to bikes · 30.1 miHorses · 29.8 miUnpaved · 34.0 mi
Milford Mountain Bike Trail6.4 mi
South Trail4.2 mi
Loop 43.8 mi
West Trail3.3 mi
East Trail2.8 mi
Loop 22.4 mi
Loop 32.4 mi
Kensington-Proud Lake Connector2.4 mi
North Trail2.4 mi
Chief Pontiac Hiking Trail2.1 mi
15 more trails
A-Loop
1.7 mi
Loop 1
1.4 mi
West Trail (C-Loop)
1.3 mi
Chickadee Trail
1.1 mi
C-Loop
1.1 mi
Deer Run Trail
1.1 mi
C2-Loop
1.0 mi
B-Loop
1.0 mi
West Trail (B-Loop)
0.8 mi
East Trail Alternate Route
0.7 mi
Fox Trail
0.6 mi
Milford Connector
0.6 mi
Heavner Nature Connections
0.5 mi
North Trail Alternate Route
0.4 mi
C2 Loop
0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Childs LakelakeHoneywell LakelakeHubbell PondpondHunters LakeKent LakereservoirKingfisher LagoonMoore LakePhillip LakelakePickett LakelakeSears LakelakeHuron River
Biking & sports

19 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

0.7 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
18 mi
off-road bike paths
Loop 4Bike route
3.8 mi
Loop 3Bike route
2.5 mi
Kensington-Proud Lake ConnectorBike route
2.4 mi
Loop 1Bike route
2.2 mi
Loop 2Bike route
1.3 mi
Other TrailsBike route
1.1 mi
Milford ConnectorBike route
0.6 mi
Courts & fields
11Baseball
7Tennis
6Volleyball
6Basketball
3Beach volleyball
1Soccer
1Pickleball

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

4 places on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.

History →
Dr. Henry K. Foote HouseBuilding · listed 1985
About it
Milford Rural Agricultural SchoolBuilding · listed 1992
About it
Hubbard-Kesby HouseBuilding · listed 1996
About it
North Milford Village Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2000
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in Milford Township: 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.410.511.813.314.615.315.013.912.411.09.79.1
High (°F)313344586978828073614735
Rain (in)2.11.72.23.03.73.53.43.33.02.92.42.1

February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Milford Township →

Next door

Milford Township and its neighbors

Milford Township has the most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Milford Township101 miCommerce Township87 miHighland Township75 miLyon Township46 miBrighton Township16 miWixom14 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Milford Township26%3.132368%A+
Lyon Township11%1.55855%A
Highland Township20%2.222336%A
Commerce Township25%3.28077%A+
Brighton Township6%0.53327%B
Wixom15%1.55088%A

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in Milford Township

Where can I hike in Milford Township?

The longest trail networks: Kensington Metropark, 50.5 miles; Proud Lake State Recreation Area, 26.5 miles; Hubbell Pond Park, 4.2 miles; Camp Dearborn, 4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Milford Township is conserved land?

26% 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 Milford Township’s trails?

Kensington Metropark and Proud Lake State Recreation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in Milford Township?

19 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.7 of painted or protected lanes and 18 of off-road paths. Named routes: Loop 4, Loop 3 and Kensington-Proud Lake Connector.

Is there public land near Milford Township?

40,615 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Milford Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 5,536 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Milford Township have?

Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #13 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 Milford Township neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →