Bogue Flats Recreation Area
Park
93 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Andrew Jameson · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Portland
97% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Portland
4.2 miles of mapped trail cross Portland, 1.6 per square mile of land. 175 acres are parks and preserves, 46 per 1,000 residents. 9% of Portland’s land is conserved, about 144 acres.
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns · #35 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
144 acres · of 2.6 sq mi of land
Trails
4.2 mi
1.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
175 ac
46 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
97%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
8.3 mi
8.3 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Portland?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Portland have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Portland is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #35 of 701 in Michigan. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, conserved land lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Portland’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land46 acres of park per 1,000 residents (175 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home97% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 94%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 95%
Water is 5% of Portland’s area (0 of 3 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 8%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A 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 Bogue Flats Recreation Area, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Community Lake Park
Managed by City of Portland
21 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail sign
Rivertrail Linear Park
Managed by City of Portland
17 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail sign
All 11 parks & preserves
Bogue Flats Recreation Area93 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsCommunity Lake Park21 acres · City of Portland
DirectionsRivertrail Linear Park17 acres · City of Portland
DirectionsThompson Field6 acres
DirectionsTwo Rivers Park3 acres · City of Portland
Alton Park3 acres · City of Portland
DirectionsPowers Park2 acres · City of Portland
DirectionsBoy Scout Park2 acres · City of Portland
DirectionsWilliam Toan Park1 acres · City of Portland
DirectionsBrush Street Park1 acres · City of Portland
Joe Tichvon Park1 acres · City of Portland
DirectionsWho protects it
144 conserved acres
9% of Portland’s land. Water is left out: Portland has 2.6 square miles of land and 0.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Portland’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city144 ac
Local Park · 144 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bogue Flats Recreation Area Local Park | Town or city | 98 | Open |
| Community Lake Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Flohe Field Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Thompson Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Powers Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Alton Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Riverfront Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Joe Tichvon Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Brush Street School Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Portland
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Portland
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Portland
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
3 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.5 miUnpaved · 3.7 mi
Green Trail1.3 mi
Black Trail0.6 mi
Blue Trail0.5 mi
Biking & sports
8.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
8.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Portland Hike & Bike TrailBike route
2.5 miRivertrail Linear ParkBike route
0.9 miCourts & fields
11Baseball
10Tennis
4Pickleball
2Football
2Softball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 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.
When to get out
The best walking months in Portland: 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 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 33 | 44 | 57 | 69 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 61 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 2.7 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 3.9 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Portland →
Next door
Portland and its neighbors
Portland has the second most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portland | 9% | 1.6 | 46 | 97% | A |
| Portland Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Danby Township | 10% | 0.5 | 674 | 25% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Portland
Where can I hike in Portland?
The longest trail networks: Bogue Flats Recreation Area, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Portland is conserved land?
9% 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 Portland’s trails?
Bogue Flats Recreation Area and Community Lake Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Portland?
8.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 8.3 of off-road paths. Named routes: Portland Hike & Bike Trail and Rivertrail Linear Park.
Is there public land near Portland?
5,632 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Portland or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 175 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Portland have?
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #35 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 Portland 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 →