Carl Paepke Flat River Nature Park
Managed by Montcalm County
46 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Montcalm Township
Montcalm Township has 642 acres of parks, 186 for every 1,000 residents
1.9 miles of mapped trail cross Montcalm Township, 0.1 per square mile of land. 31% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4% of Montcalm Township’s land is conserved, about 858 acres.
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns · #461 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
858 acres · of 35.4 sq mi of land
Trails
1.9 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
642 ac
186 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
31%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.5 mi
1.5 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
11
What kind of outdoors town is Montcalm Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Montcalm Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Montcalm Township is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns, #461 of 701 in Michigan. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Montcalm Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land186 acres of park per 1,000 residents (642 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home31% 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 47%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 34%
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Montcalm Township Park
Managed by Montcalm Township
40 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
McCarthy Park
Managed by Montcalm County
29 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Langston State Game Area
Managed by Michigan DNR - Wildlife Division
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
858 conserved acres
4% of Montcalm Township’s land. Who manages Montcalm Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners749 ac
County80 ac
Town or city31 ac
State fish & wildlife2 ac
Private Recreation or Education · 382 acPrivate Park · 201 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 166 acLocal Park · 59 acLocal Resource Management Area · 52 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan Trails Girl Scouts Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 382 | Open |
| Utility Corridor Private Other or Unknown | Private owners | 166 | Open |
| Flat River Conservation Club Private Park | Private owners | 75 | Open |
| Brookside Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 71 | Restricted |
| Fed Mogul Gun Club Private Park | Private owners | 55 | Open |
| Local Forest Local Resource Management Area | County | 52 | Open |
| Township Land Local Park | Town or city | 31 | Open |
| William McCarthy County Park Local Park | County | 26 | Open |
| Langston State Game Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 2 | Open |
| Spencer Forest Local Park | County | 1 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Montcalm Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Montcalm Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
11 lakes & rivers
Biking & sports
1.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Basketball
1Baseball
1Beach volleyball
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Montcalm Township: July to 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 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 44 | 57 | 69 | 79 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.8 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Montcalm Township →
Next door
Montcalm Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Sidney Township13 miEureka Township12 miFairplain Township10 miPine Township10 miSpencer Township6.8 miGreenville5.3 miDouglass Township3.6 miMontcalm Township1.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montcalm Township | 4% | 0.1 | 186 | 31% | B− |
| Sidney Township | 8% | 0.4 | 667 | 37% | B+ |
| Eureka Township | 23% | 0.4 | 961 | 46% | A− |
| Spencer Township | 3% | 0.2 | 170 | 29% | B− |
| Greenville | 8% | 0.8 | 34 | 89% | A |
| Pine Township | 14% | 0.3 | 1,580 | 34% | B+ |
| Douglass Township | 1% | 0.1 | 9 | 15% | C− |
| Fairplain Township | 22% | 0.3 | 2,564 | 25% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Montcalm Township
How much of Montcalm Township is conserved land?
4% 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 Montcalm Township’s trails?
Carl Paepke Flat River Nature Park and Montcalm Township Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Montcalm Township?
1.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Montcalm Township?
21,231 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Montcalm Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 642 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Montcalm Township have?
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #461 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 Montcalm 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 →