Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
221 acres are parks and preserves, 167 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Pere Marquette State Forest - Traverse City Unit (48.7 mi), Rugg Pond Natural Area (0.5 mi). 24% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Rapid River Township is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
The longest trail network is Pere Marquette State Forest - Traverse City Unit, with 48.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
under 1% of Rapid River Township’s land. Who manages Rapid River Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Traverse City State Forest Area: Seven Bridges State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 113 | Open |
| Rugg Pond Natural Area Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 4 | Closed |
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
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) | 9.1 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.0 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 30 | 40 | 53 | 67 | 76 | 80 | 78 | 70 | 57 | 43 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 3.0 | 2.5 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.2 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Rapid River Township →
Rapid River Township has the second most mapped trails of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rapid River Township | under 1% | 2.2 | 167 | 24% | B |
| Coldsprings Township | 1% | 1.3 | 71 | 14% | B |
| Custer Township | 4% | 1.2 | 48 | 5% | B |
| Clearwater Township | 13% | 0.9 | 969 | 47% | A |
| Kalkaska Township | 1% | 3.0 | 24 | 53% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
The longest trail networks: Pere Marquette State Forest - Traverse City Unit, 48.7 miles; Rugg Pond Natural Area, 0.5 miles; Rapid River Township Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
under 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.
Pere Marquette State Forest - Traverse City Unit and Rugg Pond Natural Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
6,576 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Rapid River Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 221 of them inside the town line.
Ahead of 61% 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.
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Rapid River Township neighbors.
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 →