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Cooke Hydroelectric PlantCooke Hydroelectric Plant · Photo: Wikiskier1131992 · CC BY-SA 3.0
A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Oscoda Township

More than half of Oscoda Township’s land is conserved: 65%

65% of Oscoda Township’s land is conserved, about 51,129 acres. 338 miles of mapped trail cross Oscoda Township, 2.8 per square mile of land. 3,668 acres are parks and preserves, 511 per 1,000 residents.

Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns · #10 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

Conserved land
65%
51,129 acres · of 122.0 sq mi of land
Trails
338 mi
2.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
3,668 ac
511 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
67%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.7 mi
5.7 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
15
5 beaches · 15 boat launches

What kind of outdoors town is Oscoda Township?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Land that stays wild65% of the land is conserved; a typical Michigan town, 5%.A trail town2.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 97% of U.S. towns.Room to roam511 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Oscoda Township have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Oscoda Township is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns, #10 of 701 in Michigan. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.

A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Oscoda Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land65% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%A+Trails2.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (338 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land511 acres of park per 1,000 residents (3,668 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home67% 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 97%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)#10 of 701

Water is 7% of Oscoda Township’s area (9 of 131 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 61%.

How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A 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.

1234
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 Huron National Forest, with 206.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Huron National Forest

Managed by United States Forest Service
46,425 acres206.1 mi of trail
Shore to Shore TrailHuron ORV TrailHighbanks Hiking TrailConnecting Communities Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Au Sable State Forest - Grayling Unit

Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
14,707 acres91.7 mi of trail
Old State House ATV TrailOld State House ORV RouteNine PointOld State House ORV Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Old Orchard Park

Managed by Oscoda Township
220 acres2.9 mi of trail
Wildcat East Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Oscoda Beach Park

Park
10 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 12 parks & preserves
Huron National Forest46,425 acres · 206.1 mi of trail · United States Forest Service
Directions
Au Sable State Forest - Grayling Unit14,707 acres · 91.7 mi of trail · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Directions
Old Orchard Park220 acres · 2.9 mi of trail · Oscoda Township
Directions
Oscoda Beach Park10 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Directions
Three Mile Beach Park24 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Directions
Sports Complex58 acres
Ken Ratliff Park15 acres
Furtaw Field5 acres
Directions
Green Cedars Sculpture Walk4 acres
Van Etten Creek Park4 acres · Iosco County
Cedar Lake Boating Access Site2 acres · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Directions
Westgate Overlook1 acres
Who protects it

51,129 conserved acres

65% of Oscoda Township’s land. Water is left out: Oscoda Township has 122.0 square miles of land and 9.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Oscoda Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

U.S. Forest Service46,428 ac
Private owners3,853 ac
Other state land619 ac
Town or city260 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits161 ac
National Forest · 46,428 acPrivate Park · 3,166 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 688 acState Conservation Area · 619 acLocal Park · 218 ac
The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Huron National Forest
National Forest
U.S. Forest Service44,099Open
Old Orchard Park
Private Park
Private owners2,715Open
Huron Purchase Unit
National Forest
U.S. Forest Service2,329Open
Utility Corridor
Private Other or Unknown
Private owners688Open
State Forest
State Conservation Area
Other state land619Open
Lakewood Shores Golf Club
Private Park
Private owners300Restricted
Land
Local Park
Town or city198Open
YMCA Camp Nissokone
Private Recreation or Education
Land trusts & nonprofits161Restricted
Geezers Hunt Club
Private Park
Private owners81Open
Whisker's Hunt Club
Private Park
Private owners70Open

4 smaller protected places aren’t shown.

Things to do

47 places to go in Oscoda Township

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Campgrounds in Oscoda Township
065CIn Huron National Forest
Directions
070DIn Huron National Forest
Directions
071DIn Huron National Forest
Directions
085WIn Huron National Forest
Directions
087WIn Huron National Forest
Directions
088DIn Huron National Forest
Directions
089DIn Huron National Forest
Directions
090WIn Huron National Forest
Directions
4 more campgrounds
Blue Group Camping AreaIn Old Orchard Park · Old Orchard Campground
Directions
Monument CampgroundFee · In Huron National Forest · United States Forest Service
Directions
Van Etten Lake State Forest CampgroundFee · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Directions
White Group Camping AreaIn Old Orchard Park · Old Orchard Campground
Directions

Plus 5 campgrounds without a name on the map.

Trails & water

25 named trails and 15 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.6 miHorses · 18.6 miUnpaved · 13.7 mi
Shore to Shore Trail15.0 mi
Old State House ATV Trail12.2 mi
Huron ORV Trail9.7 mi
Highbanks Hiking Trail6.7 mi
Connecting Communities Trail6.5 mi
Old State House ORV Route5.6 mi
Eagle Run Trail5.5 mi
Forest Road 21615.1 mi
Forest Road 44304.0 mi
Wildcat Central Loop2.5 mi
15 more trails
Forest Road 4424
2.4 mi
Wildcat West Trail
2.4 mi
Iosco SMT DNR 6
2.2 mi
FS2123
2.1 mi
Forest Road 2136
2.0 mi
Forest Road 2011
2.0 mi
Forest Road 4425
2.0 mi
Forest Road 2014
1.8 mi
River Road Spur
1.7 mi
Wildcat East Trail
1.7 mi
Forest Road 2137
1.3 mi
Nine Point
1.3 mi
Forest Road 2009
1.3 mi
Harvey Trail
1.2 mi
Au Sable Camping Site Trail
1.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Allen LakepondCooke Dam PondreservoirDuell LakepondFive Channels Dam PondreservoirFoote Dam PondreservoirGoose LakelakeLoud Dam PondreservoirMitchell LakelakePerch LakelakeSlab LakelakeStuart LakepondVan Etten LakereservoirAu Sable RiverPine RiverVan Etten Creek
Biking & sports

5.7 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

5.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
6Baseball
4Tennis
3Soccer
2Basketball
2Pickleball
1Skate park

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

1 place on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.

History →
Cooke Hydroelectric PlantDistrict · listed 1996
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in Oscoda Township: May, June 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.210.411.813.414.815.515.214.012.410.99.58.8
High (°F)283140536576807871584433
Rain (in)1.71.61.83.23.13.23.53.42.82.92.42.1

February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 3.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Oscoda Township →

Next door

Oscoda Township and its neighbors

Oscoda Township has the most mapped trails of the 7 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Oscoda Township338 miWilber Township164 miPlainfield Township128 miCurtis Township94 miAu Sable Township54 miMikado Township54 miGreenbush Township12 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Oscoda Township65%2.851167%A+
Mikado Township— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Au Sable Township27%2.631081%A+
Plainfield Township46%1.216321%A
Wilber Township— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Greenbush Township2%0.53533%B−
Curtis Township47%1.44943%A−

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in Oscoda Township

Where can I hike in Oscoda Township?

The longest trail networks: Huron National Forest, 206.1 miles; Au Sable State Forest - Grayling Unit, 91.7 miles; Old Orchard Park, 2.9 miles; Oscoda Beach Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Oscoda Township is conserved land?

65% 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 Oscoda Township’s trails?

Huron National Forest and Au Sable State Forest - Grayling Unit don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in Oscoda Township?

5.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.7 of off-road paths.

Is there public land near Oscoda Township?

217,710 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Oscoda Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 50,413 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Oscoda Township have?

Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #10 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 Oscoda Township neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →