Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
590 acres2.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Porter Township
Porter Township has 318 acres of parks, 270 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit (2.1 mi). 13% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 20 miles of mapped trail cross Porter Township, 0.6 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
634 acres · of 35.7 sq mi of land
Trails
20 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
318 ac
270 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
13%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Porter Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Porter Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Porter Township is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Porter Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (20 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land270 acres of park per 1,000 residents (318 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home13% 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 58%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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.
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 Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit, with 2.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
634 conserved acres
3% of Porter Township’s land. Who manages Porter Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city553 ac
Other state land320 ac
Private owners78 ac
Local Park · 553 acConservation Easement · 320 acPrivate Park · 78 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Midland Park Local Park | Town or city | 553 | Open |
| Schmidt Hunt Club Private Park | Private owners | 78 | Open |
When to get out
The best walking months in Porter Township: July 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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.3 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 43 | 57 | 69 | 79 | 83 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 1.9 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 3.6 inches fall in August, the wettest month. The climate in Porter Township →
Next door
Porter Township and its neighbors
Porter Township has the 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Porter Township | 3% | 0.6 | 270 | 13% | B |
| Jasper Township | 1% | 0.4 | 149 | 11% | C+ |
| Lee Township | 2% | 0.1 | 80 | 14% | C+ |
| Wheeler Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 4 | 58% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Porter Township
Where can I hike in Porter Township?
The longest trail networks: Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit, 2.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Porter Township is conserved land?
3% 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 Porter Township’s trails?
Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Porter Township?
5,011 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Porter Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 318 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Porter Township have?
Ahead of 58% 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 Porter 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 →