Covered Bridge Farm County Park
Managed by St. Joseph County
7 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
M-86-Prarie River Bridge · Photo: Charles W. Chapman · CC BY-SA 3.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Nottawa Township
Nottawa Township has 87 acres of parks, 23 for every 1,000 residents
1.3 miles of mapped trail cross Nottawa Township. 42% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 29% of U.S. towns · #589 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
172 acres · of 35.6 sq mi of land
Trails
1.3 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
87 ac
23 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
42%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
6
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Nottawa Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Nottawa Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Nottawa Township is ahead of 29% of U.S. towns, #589 of 701 in Michigan. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Nottawa Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land23 acres of park per 1,000 residents (87 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home42% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 29%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 16%
Water is 5% of Nottawa Township’s area (2 of 38 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 1%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Sand Lake County Park
Managed by St. Joseph County
7 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Adams Park
Park
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
172 conserved acres
1% of Nottawa Township’s land. Water is left out: Nottawa Township has 35.6 square miles of land and 2.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Nottawa Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners101 ac
County66 ac
Town or city5 ac
Private Park · 101 acLocal Park · 71 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Joe Valley Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 101 | Restricted |
| St. Joseph County Fairground Local Park | County | 66 | Open |
| Adams Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Nottawa Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Nottawa Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Nottawa Township
2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
6 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
9Baseball
3Equestrian
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Nottawa Township: April and July 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 35 | 46 | 59 | 71 | 80 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 62 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 2.8 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.2 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Nottawa Township →
Next door
Nottawa Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Sherman Township4.3 miLockport Township2.4 miColon Township1.8 miNottawa Township1.3 miMendon Township0.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nottawa Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 23 | 42% | C |
| Lockport Township | 1% | 0.1 | 15 | 28% | C− |
| Sherman Township | 1% | 0.1 | 42 | 26% | C |
| Mendon Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 5 | 42% | D |
| Colon Township | 1% | 0.1 | 38 | 38% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Nottawa Township
How much of Nottawa Township 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 Nottawa Township’s trails?
Covered Bridge Farm County Park and Sand Lake County Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Nottawa Township?
2,380 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Nottawa Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 87 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Nottawa Township have?
Ahead of 29% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #589 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 Nottawa 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 →