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AOutdoors
Outdoors in Munising Township

More than half of Munising Township’s land is conserved: 74%

74% of Munising Township’s land is conserved, about 95,244 acres. 50,003 acres are parks and preserves, 17,700 per 1,000 residents. 293 miles of mapped trail cross Munising Township, 1.4 per square mile of land.

Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns · #74 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

Conserved land
74%
95,244 acres · of 202.2 sq mi of land
Trails
293 mi
1.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
50,003 ac
17,700 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
20%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
70
3 beaches · 5 boat launches

What kind of outdoors town is Munising Township?

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

Land that stays wild74% of the land is conserved; a typical Michigan town, 5%.Room to roam17,700 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.A trail town1.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 88% of U.S. towns.A beach town3 named beaches on the map.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Munising Township have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Munising Township is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #74 of 701 in Michigan. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.

A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Munising Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land74% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (293 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land17,700 acres of park per 1,000 residents (50,003 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home20% 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
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 90%

Water is 7% of Munising Township’s area (15 of 218 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 69%.

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.

12345
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 Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (Federal Unit), with 45 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (Federal Unit)

Managed by National Park Service
13,288 acres45 mi of trail
North Country TrailChapel Rock TrailChapel Beach TrailMosquito Falls Trail+1
Dogs usually limited
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗

Lake Superior State Forest - Shingleton Unit

Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
38,547 acres37.3 mi of trail
Haywire Grade ORV TrailCounty Road 691County Road 690
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (Inner Buffer Zone)

Managed by National Park Service
17,861 acres24.6 mi of trail
Dogs usually limited
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗

Beaver Basin Wilderness

Managed by National Park Service
1,608 acres6.5 mi of trail
North Country TrailLake Superior Trail
Dogs usually limited
No trailhead mapped yet

Cusino State Wildlife Research Area

Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
1,546 acres4.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (Federal Unit)13,288 acres · 45 mi of trail · National Park Service
Directions
Lake Superior State Forest - Shingleton Unit38,547 acres · 37.3 mi of trail · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (Inner Buffer Zone)17,861 acres · 24.6 mi of trail · National Park Service
Directions
Beaver Basin Wilderness1,608 acres · 6.5 mi of trail · National Park Service
Cusino State Wildlife Research Area1,546 acres · 4.4 mi of trail · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Wagner Falls Scenic Site36 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Directions
Alger Underwater Preserve7,825 acres
Who protects it

95,244 conserved acres

74% of Munising Township’s land. Water is left out: Munising Township has 202.2 square miles of land and 15.5 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Munising Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

State natural resources38,735 ac
U.S. Forest Service32,640 ac
National Park Service13,221 ac
Other state land8,919 ac
State fish & wildlife1,582 ac
Private owners346 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land27 ac
State Conservation Area · 40,310 acNational Forest · 32,640 acNational Lakeshore or Seashore · 13,195 acForest Stewardship Easement · 8,915 acPrivate Park · 313 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 8,800 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Shingleton State Foreset Area
State Conservation Area
State natural resources38,728Open
Hiawatha National Forest
National Forest
U.S. Forest Service32,640Open
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
National Lakeshore or Seashore
National Park Service13,195Open
Cusino State Wildlife Research Area
State Conservation Area
State fish & wildlife1,582Open
Pictured Rock Golf Club
Private Park
Private owners313Restricted
Beaver Basin
Private Conservation
Private owners33Restricted
Wagner Falls State Park
State Park
State natural resources7Open
Things to do

54 places to go in Munising Township

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

Beaches in Munising Township
Chapel BeachIn Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (Federal Unit)
Directions
Miners BeachIn Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (Federal Unit)
Directions
Sand Point BeachIn Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (Federal Unit)
Directions
Trails & water

25 named trails and 57 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Open to bikes · 4.6 miUnpaved · 57.8 mi
North Country Trail21.5 mi
Coalwood ORV Trail9.5 mi
Pine Line - Wetmore Trail5.4 mi
Bruno's Run4.6 mi
Chapel Rock Trail3.2 mi
County Road 6402.9 mi
Chapel Beach Trail2.8 mi
Mosquito Falls Trail2.6 mi
County Road 6262.1 mi
County Road 6461.6 mi
15 more trails
Hanley Truck Trail
1.5 mi
Mosquito River Trail
1.4 mi
County Road 605
1.4 mi
Grant's Lake
1.2 mi
County Road 643
1.1 mi
County Road 644
1.1 mi
County Road 691
1.1 mi
Haywire Grade ORV Trail
1.1 mi
County Road 634
0.9 mi
County Road 639
0.9 mi
County Highway 627
0.8 mi
Temple Lake Spur A
0.8 mi
Lake Superior Trail
0.7 mi
Sand Point NCT Connector Trail
0.6 mi
Miners Falls Trail
0.6 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Als LakelakeBaldy LakelakeBar LakelakeBig Twin LakeBlue LakelakeCamp K LakeCarp LakeChapel LakeCherry LakelakeCluster LakesCox PondCrow LakeDoe LakelakeFish LakelakeGarvey PondsGrants LakeHalfmoon LakelakeHammond LakeHartney LakeHike LakelakeHumphrey PondIrwin LakeIsland LakelakeLittle Chapel LakelakeLost LakelakeLower Shoe LakeMan LakelakeMcFarlin LakelakeMccomb LakelakeMcneil LakelakeMiners LakelakeMink LakeMino-kwe PondslakeMisty LakeMoccasin LakeMuddy LakeNelson LakelakeNoble LakeNookomis LakelakePan LakelakePeck LakelakePhillip PondPowell LakelakeRock LakeScout LakeSection Thirtysix LakelakeSister LakeSkeels PondSnipe LakeSphagnum LakeAnna RiverHickey CreekIndian RiverLittle Indian RiverMiners RiverMosquito RiverNorth Branch Stutts Creek
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.

Valley Spur Loop 1Bike route
3.4 mi
Courts & fields
2Tennis
2Baseball
1Basketball

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

When to get out

The best walking months in Munising Township: May, June and 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.010.311.813.515.015.815.514.212.510.89.38.6
High (°F)242736486272777567534029
Rain (in)2.71.81.82.73.13.23.63.13.94.23.12.7

February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 4.2 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Munising Township →

Next door

Munising Township and its neighbors

Munising Township has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Burt Township470 miMunising Township293 miAu Train Township270 miNahma Township260 miInwood Township219 miHiawatha Township202 miGrand Island Township44 miMunising25 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Munising Township74%1.417,70020%A
Au Train Township58%1.94316%A−
Hiawatha Township81%0.772,05863%A
Munising26%4.732794%A+
Grand Island Township— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Inwood Township— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Burt Township— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Nahma Township— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

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

Questions about parks and trails in Munising Township

Where can I hike in Munising Township?

The longest trail networks: Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (Federal Unit), 45 miles; Lake Superior State Forest - Shingleton Unit, 37.3 miles; Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (Inner Buffer Zone), 24.6 miles; Beaver Basin Wilderness, 6.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Munising Township is conserved land?

74% 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 Munising Township’s trails?

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (Federal Unit) and Lake Superior State Forest - Shingleton Unit don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Is there public land near Munising Township?

409,097 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Munising Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 80,576 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Munising Township have?

Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #74 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 Munising 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 →