North Branch has 2 acres of parks, 1.4 for every 1,000 residents
79% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 12% of U.S. towns. What drives it
How much outdoors does North Branch have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, North Branch is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
4 places to go in North Branch
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
0.5 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 North Branch: June to 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 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 43 | 56 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 2.5 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.5 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in North Branch →
Questions about parks and trails in North Branch
How much of North Branch is conserved land?
under 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 North Branch’s trails?
North Branch Memorial Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in North Branch?
0.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near North Branch?
10,440 acres of parks and open public land lie inside North Branch or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does North Branch have?
Ahead of 12% 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 North Branch 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 →