Mission Creek Woodland Park
Park
56 acres1.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Mount Pleasant
Mount Pleasant has 5.8 miles of mapped trails, 0.8 for every square mile of land
91% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Mission Creek Woodland Park (1.6 mi), Mill Pond Park (1.2 mi), Veit's Woods CMU Park (0.9 mi). 8% of Mount Pleasant’s land is conserved, about 372 acres.
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns · #150 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
372 acres · of 7.7 sq mi of land
Trails
5.8 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
528 ac
25 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
91%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
7.6 mi
1.5 mi lanes · 6.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Mount Pleasant?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Mount Pleasant have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Mount Pleasant is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #150 of 701 in Michigan. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Mount Pleasant’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land25 acres of park per 1,000 residents (528 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home91% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 84%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 79%
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 Mission Creek Woodland Park, with 1.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Veit's Woods CMU Park
Park
44 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 21 parks & preserves
Mission Creek Woodland Park56 acres · 1.6 mi of trail
Mill Pond Park95 acres · 1.2 mi of trail
DirectionsVeit's Woods CMU Park44 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
Warriner Mall8 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsPickens Fields17 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsChipp-A-Water Park75 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsIsland Park37 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsHorizon Park23 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsCentral Avenue17 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsCMU Disc Golf Course and Field78 acres
DirectionsMount Pleasant High School Athletic Fields40 acres
DirectionsCentral Michigan University Intramural Sport Fields30 acres
DirectionsSunnyside Park13 acres
Rose Ponds13 acres
DirectionsNelson Park10 acres
DirectionsLibrary Walk9 acres
DirectionsFabiano Botanical Gardens5 acres
DirectionsYost Park4 acres
Central Plaza4 acres
DirectionsCanal Street Neighborhood Park1 acres
Potter Playground1 acres
Who protects it
372 conserved acres
8% of Mount Pleasant’s land. Who manages Mount Pleasant’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city311 ac
Other state land77 ac
Local Park · 308 acConservation Easement · 39 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 38 acLocal Recreation Area · 4 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Millpond Park Local Park | Town or city | 96 | Open |
| Mission Creek Woodland Park Local Park | Town or city | 57 | Open |
| Chipp-A-Waters Park Local Park | Town or city | 51 | Open |
| Nelson Park Local Park | Town or city | 40 | Open |
| Veits Woods Private Recreation or Education | Other state land | 38 | Open |
| Island Park Local Park | Town or city | 32 | Open |
| Sunnyside Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Horizion Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Pickens Fields Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Yost Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 4 | Open |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
22 places to go in Mount Pleasant
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Mount Pleasant
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Mount Pleasant
Splash ParkIn Island Park
DirectionsTimber TownIn Island Park
DirectionsPlus 11 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Mount Pleasant
1820 South Apartments Dog Run
DirectionsHannah's Bark ParkIn Mission Creek Woodland Park
DirectionsFishing spots in Mount Pleasant
4 fishing spots without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Mount Pleasant
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Mount Pleasant
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
7.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.5 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
6.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
23Tennis
21Baseball
9Soccer
9Basketball
7Multi-sport
5Volleyball
3Beach volleyball
2Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 5 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Mount Pleasant: 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 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 33 | 43 | 56 | 69 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 73 | 60 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 2.4 | 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 Mount Pleasant →
Questions about parks and trails in Mount Pleasant
Where can I hike in Mount Pleasant?
The longest trail networks: Mission Creek Woodland Park, 1.6 miles; Mill Pond Park, 1.2 miles; Veit's Woods CMU Park, 0.9 miles; Warriner Mall, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Mount Pleasant is conserved land?
8% 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 Mount Pleasant’s trails?
Mission Creek Woodland Park and Mill Pond Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Mount Pleasant?
7.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.5 of painted or protected lanes and 6.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Mount Pleasant?
3,614 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Mount Pleasant or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 528 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Mount Pleasant have?
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #150 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 Mount Pleasant 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 →