Maplehurst Natural Area
Park
413 acres8.5 mi of trail
Forest TrailStream TrailRidge TrailConnector Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Milton Township
Milton Township has 545 acres of parks, 235 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Maplehurst Natural Area (8.5 mi), Torch River Ridge: A Cotanche Family Legacy (4.1 mi), Milton Township Park (0.8 mi). 17 miles of mapped trail cross Milton Township, 0.7 per square mile of land. 15% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
285 acres · of 25.6 sq mi of land
Trails
17 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
545 ac
235 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
15%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
5
2 beaches · 9 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Milton Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Milton Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Milton Township is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns. 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 Milton Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (17 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land235 acres of park per 1,000 residents (545 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home15% 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 56%
LessMore
Water is 41% of Milton Township’s area (18 of 44 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 1%.
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 Maplehurst Natural Area, with 8.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Torch River Ridge: A Cotanche Family Legacy
Managed by Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy
282 acres4.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Skegemog Lake Wildlife Area
Managed by Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy
103 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 8 parks & preserves
Maplehurst Natural Area413 acres · 8.5 mi of trail
DirectionsTorch River Ridge: A Cotanche Family Legacy282 acres · 4.1 mi of trail · Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy
DirectionsMilton Township Park44 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsSkegemog Lake Wildlife Area103 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy
Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve1,593 acres
North Skegemog Nature Sanctuary35 acres · Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy
Kewadin Wetlands Nature Sanctuary33 acres · Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy
Milton Township Waterfront Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
285 conserved acres
2% of Milton Township’s land. Water is left out: Milton Township has 25.6 square miles of land and 18.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Milton Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
USDA easements (NRCS)179 ac
Other state land159 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits93 ac
Town or city12 ac
Agricultural Easement · 334 acPrivate Conservation · 76 acConservation Easement · 21 acLocal Park · 12 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 197 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kewadin Wetlands Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 36 | Open |
| North Skegemog Nature Presreve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 28 | Open |
| Kewadin Village Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| North Skegemog Nature Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 7 | Open |
| W.L. Criger Wetland Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 5 | Open |
| Milton Township Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
Things to do
14 places to go in Milton Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Milton Township
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Milton Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Milton Township
Canoe / Kayak Launch
DirectionsKayak Launch
DirectionsPlus 7 boat launches without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Milton Township
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
6 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 4.0 miUnpaved · 12.2 mi
Forest Trail2.1 mi
Stream Trail1.5 mi
Ridge Trail1.1 mi
Connector Trail0.4 mi
Maplehurst Hike Bike Trail0.3 mi
spur0.1 mi
Lakes & 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
14Tennis
8Pickleball
5Baseball
4Soccer
1Basketball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Milton 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 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 31 | 41 | 53 | 67 | 76 | 81 | 79 | 71 | 58 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 2.8 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (1.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.2 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Milton Township →
Next door
Milton Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Whitewater Township145 miForest Home Township46 miClearwater Township27 miMilton Township17 miHelena Township13 miTorch Lake Township7.7 miRapid City5.5 miElk Rapids Township1.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milton Township | 2% | 0.7 | 235 | 15% | B |
| Clearwater Township | 13% | 0.9 | 969 | 47% | A |
| Helena Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Whitewater Township | 1% | 3.0 | 84 | 28% | B+ |
| Elk Rapids Township | 4% | 0.2 | 52 | 65% | B |
| Rapid City | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Forest Home Township | 7% | 1.9 | 467 | 41% | A |
| Torch Lake Township | 4% | 0.5 | 163 | 25% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Milton Township
Where can I hike in Milton Township?
The longest trail networks: Maplehurst Natural Area, 8.5 miles; Torch River Ridge: A Cotanche Family Legacy, 4.1 miles; Milton Township Park, 0.8 miles; Skegemog Lake Wildlife Area, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Milton 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 Milton Township’s trails?
Maplehurst Natural Area and Torch River Ridge: A Cotanche Family Legacy don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Milton Township?
8,016 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Milton Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 545 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Milton Township have?
Ahead of 56% 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 Milton 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 →