Photo: TCP04 · CC BY 4.011% of New Buffalo’s land is conserved: 173 acres
4.0 miles of mapped trail cross New Buffalo, 1.6 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: New Buffalo City Park (1 mi). 41 acres are parks and preserves, 31 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is New Buffalo?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does New Buffalo have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, New Buffalo is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is New Buffalo City Park, with 1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Louis J. Sima Great Lakes Marsh
Merganser Point
New Buffalo Marina Park
All 6 parks & preserves
173 conserved acres
11% of New Buffalo’s land. Who manages New Buffalo’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louis J Sima Marsh Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 144 | Closed |
| City Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Merganser Point Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 10 | Closed |
| Galien River County Park Preserve Local Conservation Area | County | 4 | Open |
| Trasient Dock Facilities Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 2 | Open |
10 places to go in New Buffalo
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Plus 1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
5 boat launches without a name on the map.
2.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
The best walking months in New Buffalo: 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) | 9.5 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 36 | 46 | 58 | 69 | 79 | 82 | 81 | 75 | 63 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 2.8 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.2 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in New Buffalo →
New Buffalo and its neighbors
New Buffalo has the second most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Buffalo | 11% | 1.6 | 31 | 89% | A |
| New Buffalo Township | 7% | 0.8 | 205 | 75% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in New Buffalo
Where can I hike in New Buffalo?
The longest trail networks: New Buffalo City Park, 1 miles; New Buffalo Marina Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of New Buffalo is conserved land?
11% 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 New Buffalo’s trails?
New Buffalo City Park and Louis J. Sima Great Lakes Marsh don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in New Buffalo?
2.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.0 of painted or protected lanes, 0.4 of off-road paths and 0.7 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near New Buffalo?
2,863 acres of parks and open public land lie inside New Buffalo or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 41 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does New Buffalo have?
Ahead of 92% 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 New Buffalo neighbors.
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 →