Madeline Bertrand County Park
Managed by Berrien County
124 acres4.2 mi of trail
Green TrailYellow TrailRed TrailWhite Pine Letters Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Robert Franklin · CC BY 4.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Niles Township
Niles Township has 253 acres of parks, 18 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Madeline Bertrand County Park (4.2 mi). 2% of Niles Township’s land is conserved, about 477 acres. 7.8 miles of mapped trail cross Niles Township, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 46% of U.S. towns · #470 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
477 acres · of 37.3 sq mi of land
Trails
7.8 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
253 ac
18 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
60%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
9.7 mi
4.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
4
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Niles Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Niles Township is ahead of 46% of U.S. towns, #470 of 701 in Michigan. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Niles Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land18 acres of park per 1,000 residents (253 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13BParks close to home60% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 46%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 33%
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 Madeline Bertrand County Park, with 4.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Brandywine Creek Nature Park
Nature preserve
42 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Trillium Ravine Prairie Plant Preserve
Managed by Michigan Nature Association
13 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 6 parks & preserves
Madeline Bertrand County Park124 acres · 4.2 mi of trail · Berrien County
DirectionsBrandywine Creek Nature Park42 acres
DirectionsTrillium Ravine Prairie Plant Preserve13 acres · Michigan Nature Association
Fireman's Baseball Park11 acres
DirectionsFulkerson Park4 acres
Samson Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
477 conserved acres
2% of Niles Township’s land. Who manages Niles Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners184 ac
County124 ac
Town or city96 ac
Other state land47 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits14 ac
State natural resources10 ac
Local Park · 192 acPrivate Park · 182 acAgricultural Easement · 47 acLocal Conservation Area · 25 acPrivate Conservation · 14 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 47 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madeline Bertrand Park Local Park | County | 124 | Open |
| Orchard Hills Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 107 | Restricted |
| Brookwood Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 75 | Restricted |
| Niles Township Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 32 | Open |
| Brandywine Creek Nature Preserve Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 25 | Open |
| Trillium Ravine Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 14 | Open |
| Losensky Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Brandywine Creek Unknown | State natural resources | 10 | Restricted |
| South Firemans Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Independence Ball Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
3 places to go in Niles Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Niles Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Niles Township
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
5 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.0 miUnpaved · 3.1 mi
Green Trail2.0 mi
Yellow Trail0.3 mi
Red Trail0.3 mi
Washington Court0.1 mi
White Pine Letters Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
9.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.3 mi
off-road bike paths
5.4 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Green TrailBike route
2 miCourts & fields
8Pickleball
8Tennis
6Baseball
1Football
1Basketball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Niles Township: April, May, 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 36 | 47 | 59 | 71 | 80 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 63 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.7 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 2.9 | 2.5 |
February is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.2 inches fall in August, the wettest month. The climate in Niles Township →
Next door
Niles Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Clay Township13 miBerrien Township12 miBuchanan Township8.0 miNiles Township7.8 miHoward Township0.3 miNiles0.2 miBertrand Township0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niles Township | 2% | 0.2 | 18 | 60% | B− |
| Niles | 6% | under 0.1 | 17 | 98% | B |
| Bertrand Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 29 | 8% | C− |
| Buchanan Township | 5% | 0.2 | 265 | 53% | B+ |
| Howard Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 6 | 32% | D |
| Berrien Township | 3% | 0.3 | 78 | 43% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Niles Township
Where can I hike in Niles Township?
The longest trail networks: Madeline Bertrand County Park, 4.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Niles Township is conserved land?
2% 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 Niles Township’s trails?
Madeline Bertrand County Park and Brandywine Creek Nature Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Niles Township?
9.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.3 of off-road paths and 5.4 of shoulders and shared lanes. Named routes: Green Trail.
Is there public land near Niles Township?
6,162 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Niles Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 253 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Niles Township have?
Ahead of 46% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #470 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 Niles 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 →