Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Ben Scripps · CC BY-SA 4.0The biggest trail networks: Pere Marquette State Forest - Traverse City Unit (42.8 mi), East Creek Reserve (7.4 mi), Mayfield Pond Park (1.1 mi). 175 acres are parks and preserves, 35 per 1,000 residents. 40% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns · #280 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Paradise Township is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns, #280 of 701 in Michigan. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
The longest trail network is Pere Marquette State Forest - Traverse City Unit, with 42.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
4% of Paradise Township’s land. Who manages Paradise Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,100 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| MNRTF Parcel State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 379 | Restricted |
| Halladay-Blackhurst-Chowning Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 40 | Open |
| Pioneer Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Brownson Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
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.
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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 30 | 41 | 54 | 67 | 77 | 81 | 78 | 71 | 57 | 43 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 2.7 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (1.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 3.9 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Paradise Township →
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paradise Township | 4% | 1.3 | 35 | 40% | B+ |
| Blair Township | 5% | 1.1 | 51 | 59% | A− |
| East Bay Township | 5% | 3.6 | 212 | 64% | A |
| Fife Lake Township | 2% | 4.0 | 331 | 43% | A− |
| Mayfield Township | 2% | 0.3 | under 1 | 1% | C− |
| Greenwood Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
The longest trail networks: Pere Marquette State Forest - Traverse City Unit, 42.8 miles; East Creek Reserve, 7.4 miles; Mayfield Pond Park, 1.1 miles; Halladay-Blackhurst-Chowning Nature Preserve, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
4% 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.
Pere Marquette State Forest - Traverse City Unit and East Creek Reserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
0.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.5 of off-road paths.
56,475 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Paradise Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 175 of them inside the town line.
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #280 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.
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Paradise Township neighbors.
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 →