Vielmetti-Peters Conservation Reserve
Managed by Upper Peninsula Land Conservancy
120 acres1.8 mi of trail
North LoopWest LoopWaterfalls Loop
No dogs
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Photo: Rklawton · CC BY-SA 4.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Negaunee Township
Negaunee Township has 179 acres of parks, 55 for every 1,000 residents
37 miles of mapped trail cross Negaunee Township, 0.9 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Vielmetti-Peters Conservation Reserve (1.8 mi). 11% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns · #457 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
156 acres · of 42.1 sq mi of land
Trails
37 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
179 ac
55 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
11%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.9 mi
3.9 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
10
3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Negaunee Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Negaunee Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Negaunee Township is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns, #457 of 701 in Michigan. 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 Negaunee Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (37 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land55 acres of park per 1,000 residents (179 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home11% 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 35%
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 Vielmetti-Peters Conservation Reserve, with 1.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Kivela Road Recreation Area and Trail
Managed by Negaunee Township
43 acres
Dogs allowed
No trailhead mapped yet
Carp River Gardens
Park
17 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
156 conserved acres
1% of Negaunee Township’s land. Who manages Negaunee Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits119 ac
Other state land37 ac
Private Conservation · 119 acConservation Easement · 37 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 37 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vielmetti Peters Reserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 119 | Restricted |
Things to do
6 places to go in Negaunee Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Negaunee Township
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Negaunee Township
Hoist Basin Boat Launch
DirectionsHoist Basin Boat Launch
DirectionsMcclure Storage Basin Boat Launch
DirectionsTrails & water
22 named trails and 10 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.5 miUnpaved · 13.1 mi
County Road HS1.9 mi
Animoosh1.4 mi
Noquemanon Trail1.2 mi
Green/Orange Trail0.9 mi
Orange Trail0.8 mi
Blue/Green/Orange Trail0.7 mi
County Road JJN0.6 mi
North Loop0.6 mi
Bagwaji0.6 mi
Red Trail0.5 mi
12 more trails
West Loop
0.4 miMigizi
0.4 miGreen Trail
0.3 miGookookoo
0.3 miWaaban
0.2 miOld M-35
0.2 miCounty Road JJF
0.2 miWaterfalls Loop
0.2 miAnimoosh to Grand Central
0.1 miGreen/Orange
0.1 miCounty Road JS
0.1 miBlue Trail
0.1 miBiking & sports
3.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.9 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
5Baseball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Jackson Iron Company SiteSite · listed 1975
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Negaunee Township: May 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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.0 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 15.8 | 15.5 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.6 |
| High (°F) | 22 | 26 | 36 | 48 | 63 | 72 | 77 | 75 | 67 | 53 | 38 | 27 |
| Rain (in) | 1.9 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 2.8 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 2.8 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 3.7 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Negaunee Township →
Next door
Negaunee Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Marquette Township212 miSands Township162 miIshpeming Township97 miNegaunee68 miNegaunee Township37 miRichmond Township16 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Negaunee Township | 1% | 0.9 | 55 | 11% | B− |
| Marquette Township | 20% | 3.8 | 502 | 56% | A+ |
| Ishpeming Township | 2% | 1.1 | 81 | 68% | B+ |
| Negaunee | 1% | 5.1 | 73 | 89% | A− |
| Richmond Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Sands Township | under 1% | 2.4 | 226 | 56% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Negaunee Township
Where can I hike in Negaunee Township?
The longest trail networks: Vielmetti-Peters Conservation Reserve, 1.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Negaunee Township is conserved land?
1% 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 Negaunee Township’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Kivela Road Recreation Area and Trail. For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Negaunee Township?
3.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.9 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Negaunee Township?
4,359 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Negaunee Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 179 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Negaunee Township have?
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #457 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 Negaunee 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 →