Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
27 acres1 mi of trail
Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve TrailAl Bell Wetlands Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in North Muskegon
7% of North Muskegon’s land is conserved: 80 acres
2.6 miles of mapped trail cross North Muskegon, 1.4 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve (1 mi). 78% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns · #175 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
80 acres · of 1.8 sq mi of land
Trails
2.6 mi
1.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
76 ac
19 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
78%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.7 mi
1.7 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is North Muskegon?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does North Muskegon have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, North Muskegon is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #175 of 701 in Michigan. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of North Muskegon’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land19 acres of park per 1,000 residents (76 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13BParks close to home78% 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 82%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 75%
Water is more than half of North Muskegon’s area (2 of 4 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 3%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ 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.
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 Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve, with 1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
North Muskegon Waterfront Sports Park
Park
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
80 conserved acres
7% of North Muskegon’s land. Water is left out: North Muskegon has 1.8 square miles of land and 2.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages North Muskegon’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city76 ac
Other state land4 ac
Local Conservation Area · 28 acLocal Park · 28 acLocal Recreation Area · 20 acConservation Easement · 4 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muskegon Nature Preserve Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 28 | Open |
| Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Waterfront Sports Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Veterans' Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Bear Lake Beach Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| West End Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Walker Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Custer Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Veterans Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| East End Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in North Muskegon
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in North Muskegon
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve Trail0.3 mi
Al Bell Wetlands Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
4Pickleball
4Tennis
3Baseball
2Soccer
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in North Muskegon: 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 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 44 | 56 | 68 | 78 | 81 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 3.0 | 2.3 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 3.9 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in North Muskegon →
Next door
North Muskegon and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Muskegon | 7% | 1.4 | 19 | 78% | A− |
| Laketon Township | 4% | 1.4 | 185 | 47% | A− |
| Muskegon | 5% | 1.6 | 19 | 82% | A− |
| Muskegon Township | 18% | 0.2 | 154 | 40% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in North Muskegon
Where can I hike in North Muskegon?
The longest trail networks: Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve, 1 miles; Veterans Memorial Park, 0.4 miles; Bear Lake Beach Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of North Muskegon is conserved land?
7% 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 Muskegon’s trails?
Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve and Veterans Memorial Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in North Muskegon?
1.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.7 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near North Muskegon?
25,218 acres of parks and open public land lie inside North Muskegon or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 76 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does North Muskegon have?
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #175 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 North Muskegon 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 →