Bird Creek Park
Managed by Village of Port Austin
7 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Smith-Culhane House · Photo: Doug Kerr (Dougtone) · CC BY-SA 2.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Port Austin Township
Port Austin Township has 149 acres of parks, 99 for every 1,000 residents
1% of Port Austin Township’s land is conserved, about 140 acres. 70% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3.8 miles of mapped trail cross Port Austin Township, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
140 acres · of 16.3 sq mi of land
Trails
3.8 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
149 ac
99 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
70%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.1 mi
0.1 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
5 beaches · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Port Austin Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Port Austin Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Port Austin Township is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Port Austin Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land99 acres of park per 1,000 residents (149 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home70% 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 56%
LessMore
Water is more than half of Port Austin Township’s area (154 of 170 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read under 1%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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
The longest trail network is Bird Creek Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Thumb Area Underwater Preserve
Nature preserve
33,336 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Port Austin Conservation Club
Nature preserve
46 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 10 parks & preserves
Bird Creek Park7 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Village of Port Austin
DirectionsVeteran's Memorial Park11 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsThumb Area Underwater Preserve33,336 acres
DirectionsPort Austin Conservation Club46 acres
Quarry Fields30 acres
DirectionsGallup Park10 acres
DirectionsGrindstone County Park7 acres
DirectionsGrindstone City Lake Huron Boating Access Access7 acres · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsEagle Bay Public Access4 acres · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Port Austin Tower Park1 acres
Who protects it
140 conserved acres
1% of Port Austin Township’s land. Water is left out: Port Austin Township has 16.3 square miles of land and 154.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Port Austin Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city140 ac
Private owners29 ac
County8 ac
Local Park · 148 acPrivate Park · 29 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Huron City Park Local Park | Town or city | 70 | Open |
| City of Bad Axe Park Local Park | Town or city | 36 | Open |
| Private Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 29 | Restricted |
| Village of Port Austin Park Local Park | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Bird Creek Park Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| Ballfield Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Gallop Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
11 places to go in Port Austin Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Port Austin Township
5 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Port Austin Township
3 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Port Austin Township
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Port Austin Township
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
6Basketball
6Tennis
3Baseball
1Pickleball
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 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.
Grindstone City Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1971
About itCharles G. Learned HouseBuilding · listed 1984
About itWinsor and Snover Bank BuildingBuilding · listed 1987
About itHuron City Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1995
About itSmith-Culhane HouseBuilding · listed 2001
About itPort Austin Reef LightStructure · listed 2011
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Port Austin Township: May 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 31 | 39 | 50 | 62 | 72 | 78 | 77 | 70 | 58 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 2.5 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 3.2 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Port Austin Township →
Next door
Port Austin Township and its neighbors
Port Austin Township has the second most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Austin Township | 1% | 0.2 | 99 | 70% | B |
| Hume Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Huron Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Dwight 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.
Questions about parks and trails in Port Austin Township
Where can I hike in Port Austin Township?
The longest trail networks: Bird Creek Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Port Austin 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 Port Austin Township’s trails?
Bird Creek Park and Thumb Area Underwater Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Port Austin Township?
0.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Port Austin Township?
4,639 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Port Austin Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 149 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Port Austin Township have?
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Port Austin 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 →