Allegan State Game Area
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
44 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Michigan Paper Company Mill Historic District · Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Plainwell
Plainwell has 72 acres of parks, 19 for every 1,000 residents
90% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5% of Plainwell’s land is conserved, about 68 acres. 0.4 miles of mapped trail cross Plainwell, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns · #335 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
68 acres · of 2.1 sq mi of land
Trails
0.4 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
72 ac
19 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
90%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.9 mi
0.5 mi lanes · 0.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Plainwell?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Plainwell have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Plainwell is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns, #335 of 701 in Michigan. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Plainwell’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land19 acres of park per 1,000 residents (72 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13BParks close to home90% 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 65%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 52%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B to B+. 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.
Kenyon Park
Park
22 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Thurl Cook Park7 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsAllegan State Game Area44 acres · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsKenyon Park22 acres
Sherwood Park4 acres
DirectionsHicks Park1 acres
DirectionsFannie Pell Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
68 conserved acres
5% of Plainwell’s land. Who manages Plainwell’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city44 ac
State fish & wildlife23 ac
Local Park · 44 acState Conservation Area · 23 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenyon Park Local Park | Town or city | 32 | Open |
| Allegan State Game Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 23 | Open |
| Thurl Cook Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Sherwood Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Bandshell Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Fannie Pell Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Hicks Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
10 places to go in Plainwell
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Plainwell
6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Plainwell
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Fishing spots in Plainwell
2 fishing spots without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Plainwell
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.5 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
8Tennis
5Baseball
5Pickleball
4Basketball
1Football
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 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.
Cherry DeLefebvre HouseBuilding · listed 1991
About itEesley, J. F., Milling Co. Flour Mill-ElevatorStructure · listed 1991
About itIsland Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1991
About itWest Bridge Street Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1991
About itMichigan Paper Company Mill Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2011
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Plainwell: June 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 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 35 | 46 | 59 | 71 | 80 | 84 | 81 | 75 | 62 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 3.5 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 2.8 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.2 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Plainwell →
Next door
Plainwell 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plainwell | 5% | 0.2 | 19 | 90% | B |
| Gun Plain Township | 2% | 0.1 | 2 | 14% | D |
| Otsego Township | 6% | under 0.1 | 155 | 32% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Plainwell
Where can I hike in Plainwell?
The longest trail networks: Thurl Cook Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Plainwell is conserved land?
5% 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 Plainwell’s trails?
Allegan State Game Area and Kenyon Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Plainwell?
0.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.5 of painted or protected lanes and 0.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Plainwell?
7,005 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Plainwell or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 72 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Plainwell have?
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #335 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 Plainwell 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 →