River Park
Managed by Northville Parks and Recreation
11 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Dave Parker · CC BY 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Northville
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Northville
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 4.4 miles of mapped trail cross Northville, 2.2 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: River Park (0.8 mi), Lexington Commons (0.7 mi).
Ahead of 81% of U.S. towns · #187 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
18 acres · of 2.0 sq mi of land
Trails
4.4 mi
2.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
86 ac
14 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.7 mi
2.2 mi lanes · 1.9 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Northville?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Northville have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Northville is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns, #187 of 701 in Michigan. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Northville’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%CTrails2.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land14 acres of park per 1,000 residents (86 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13BParks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 81%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 73%
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 River Park, with 0.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lexington Commons
Managed by Lexington Commons Association
15 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Mill Race Historic Village
Managed by Northville Historical Society
3 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 11 parks & preserves
River Park11 acres · 0.8 mi of trail · Northville Parks and Recreation
DirectionsLexington Commons15 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · Lexington Commons Association
DirectionsHines Parkway14 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsMill Race Historic Village3 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Northville Historical Society
DirectionsFord Field Park West6 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · City of Northville
DirectionsMaplewood Park5 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Northville West Recreation Area8 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsCabbagetown Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Ford Field Park East6 acres
DirectionsFish Hatchery Park4 acres
DirectionsDenton Park1 acres
Who protects it
18 conserved acres
1% of Northville’s land. Who manages Northville’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city18 ac
Local Park · 18 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ford Field Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Allen Drive Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Fish Hatchery Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Maplewood Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Denton Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
16 places to go in Northville
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Northville
Fort GriswoldIn Ford Field Park West
DirectionsPlus 14 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Northville
Cady Street Dog Park
DirectionsBiking & sports
4.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.2 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.9 mi
off-road bike paths
0.6 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
3Baseball
2Basketball
1Soccer
1Football
1Lacrosse
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Northville: August 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 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 45 | 58 | 70 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 61 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 3.1 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 3.8 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Northville →
Next door
Northville 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northville | 1% | 2.2 | 14 | 99%+ | A− |
| Northville Township | 20% | 3.7 | 68 | 92% | A+ |
| Novi | 12% | 1.7 | 25 | 85% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Northville
Where can I hike in Northville?
The longest trail networks: River Park, 0.8 miles; Lexington Commons, 0.7 miles; Hines Parkway, 0.4 miles; Mill Race Historic Village, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Northville 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 Northville’s trails?
River Park and Lexington Commons don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Northville?
4.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.2 of painted or protected lanes, 1.9 of off-road paths and 0.6 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Northville?
19,863 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Northville or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 86 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Northville have?
Ahead of 81% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #187 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 Northville 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 →