Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Plainfield Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Plainfield Township

46% of Plainfield Township’s land is conserved: 30,434 acres

548 acres are parks and preserves, 163 per 1,000 residents. 128 miles of mapped trail cross Plainfield Township, 1.2 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Huron National Forest (105.4 mi), Loon Lake Nature Park (0.9 mi).

Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns · #124 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

Conserved land
46%
30,434 acres · of 103.7 sq mi of land
Trails
128 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
548 ac
163 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
21%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
26
2 beaches · 2 boat launches

What kind of outdoors town is Plainfield Township?

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

Land that stays wild46% of the land is conserved; a typical Michigan town, 5%.Room to roam163 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.A trail town1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 85% of U.S. towns.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Plainfield Township have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Plainfield Township is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #124 of 701 in Michigan. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.

A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Plainfield Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land46% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (128 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land163 acres of park per 1,000 residents (548 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home21% 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 86%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 82%
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.

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 105.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Huron National Forest

Managed by United States Forest Service
29,483 acres105.4 mi of trail
Shore to Shore TrailHuron ORV TrailHuron ORV, Sand Lake SpurHuron ORV Sand Lake Spur+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗

Loon Lake Nature Park

Managed by Plainfield Township
136 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Westgate Overlook

Park
11 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Long Lake Park and Boat Launch

Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
11 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 7 parks & preserves
Huron National Forest29,483 acres · 105.4 mi of trail · United States Forest Service
Directions
Loon Lake Nature Park136 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · Plainfield Township
Directions
Westgate Overlook11 acres
Directions
Long Lake Park and Boat Launch11 acres · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Directions
Township Hall Park11 acres · Plainfield Township
Directions
Loon Lake Park2 acres · Plainfield Township
Directions
West Londo Lake Park1 acres · Plainfield Township
Directions
Who protects it

30,434 conserved acres

46% of Plainfield Township’s land. Who manages Plainfield Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

U.S. Forest Service29,499 ac
Private owners567 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits233 ac
County72 ac
Town or city63 ac
National Forest · 29,499 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 443 acUnknown Easement · 233 acPrivate Park · 124 acLocal Recreation Area · 72 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 233 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Huron National Forest
National Forest
U.S. Forest Service29,499Open
Michigan Lutheran Church
Private Recreation or Education
Private owners368Open
Wicker Hills Country Club
Private Park
Private owners124Restricted
Oak Ridge Lodge
Private Recreation or Education
Private owners75Open
City of Hygeia Park
Local Park
Town or city55Open
Iosco Agricultural Society
Local Recreation Area
County41Restricted
Iosco Fairgrounds
Local Recreation Area
County31Restricted
Plainfield Township Park
Local Park
Town or city4Open
Plainfield Park
Local Park
Town or city4Open
Things to do

8 places to go in Plainfield Township

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

Boat launches in Plainfield Township
Long Lake Boat Launch
Directions
Round Lake Boat Launch
Directions
Trails & water

25 named trails and 26 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Open to bikes · 5.0 miHorses · 14.3 miUnpaved · 15.2 mi
Shore to Shore Trail8.6 mi
Huron ORV Trail5.7 mi
Forest Road 21602.8 mi
Huron ORV, Sand Lake Spur2.3 mi
Huron ORV Sand Lake Spur2.2 mi
Forest Road 21611.7 mi
Iargo Trail1.5 mi
Tower Trail1.2 mi
Kerr Trail1.1 mi
Iosco SMT DNR 61.1 mi
15 more trails
Forest Road 2167
0.9 mi
West Butler Trail
0.8 mi
Forest Road 2170
0.7 mi
Huron ORV Rollways Spur
0.7 mi
Dry Trail
0.7 mi
Sand Trail
0.6 mi
South Chippewa Trail
0.6 mi
Jose Lake Trail
0.6 mi
Forest Road 4255
0.5 mi
Jack Pine Trail
0.4 mi
Forest Road 2188
0.3 mi
Forest Road 2192
0.3 mi
Forest Road 2175
0.2 mi
Forest Road 2189
0.2 mi
Forest Road 2174
0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Alice LakelakeCatherine LakelakeChain LakeslakeEsmond LakelakeGrassy LakepondGuilford LakelakeHale LakelakeHoppy LakelakeIndian LakelakeJose LakelakeLittle Bass LakelakeLittle Island LakelakeLittle Long LakelakeLondo LakelakeLong LakelakeLoon LakelakeMarlbed LakelakeMud LakelakePeterson LakepondRiver LakeslakeRound LakelakeSecord LakelakeVaughn LakelakeWelcome LakelakeWest Londo LakelakeSouth Branch River
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
4Baseball
2Football
1Tennis
1Basketball

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

When to get out

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

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.210.411.813.414.815.515.214.012.410.99.58.9
High (°F)283141546777817972584433
Rain (in)1.71.61.83.23.23.33.53.42.83.12.41.9

February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 3.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Plainfield Township →

Next door

Plainfield Township and its neighbors

Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Oscoda Township338 miWilber Township164 miPlainfield Township128 miCurtis Township94 miGoodar Township46 miReno Township28 miGrant Township17 miHill Township3.3 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Plainfield Township46%1.216321%A
Oscoda Township65%2.851167%A+
Hill Township8%0.11,01641%B
Goodar Township— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Reno Township— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Wilber Township— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Grant Township14%0.54743%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 Plainfield Township

Where can I hike in Plainfield Township?

The longest trail networks: Huron National Forest, 105.4 miles; Loon Lake Nature Park, 0.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Plainfield Township is conserved land?

46% 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 Plainfield Township’s trails?

Huron National Forest and Loon Lake Nature Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Is there public land near Plainfield Township?

239,707 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Plainfield Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 30,171 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Plainfield Township have?

Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #124 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 Plainfield 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 →