Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
32,084 acres154.9 mi of trail
St. Helen ORV RouteFire TrailInglesonGeels ORV TRAIL+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Richfield Township
Richfield Township has 2,125 acres of parks, 596 for every 1,000 residents
167 miles of mapped trail cross Richfield Township, 2.4 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit (154.9 mi). 45% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns · #144 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
2,147 acres · of 69.0 sq mi of land
Trails
167 mi
2.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,125 ac
596 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
45%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
9
1 beach · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Richfield Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Richfield Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Richfield Township is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #144 of 701 in Michigan. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Richfield Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails2.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (167 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land596 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,125 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home45% 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 85%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 80%
Water is 5% of Richfield Township’s area (4 of 73 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 5%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ 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 - Roscommon Unit, with 154.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Kirtlands Warbler Wildlife Management Area
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
40 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Richfield Township Park
Park
16 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Richfiled Township Park and Boat Launch
Park
13 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 5 parks & preserves
Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit32,084 acres · 154.9 mi of trail · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsKirtlands Warbler Wildlife Management Area40 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Richfield Township Park16 acres
Richfiled Township Park and Boat Launch13 acres
DirectionsSaint Helen Community Garden Park2 acres
Who protects it
2,147 conserved acres
5% of Richfield Township’s land. Water is left out: Richfield Township has 69.0 square miles of land and 4.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Richfield Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners2,081 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service82 ac
Other state land25 ac
Private Park · 1,784 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 297 acConservation Area · 82 acConservation Easement · 25 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 25 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Helen Shooting Club Private Park | Private owners | 1,784 | Open |
| Au Sable River Park Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 297 | Open |
| Kirtlands Warbler Wildlife Management Area Conservation Area | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 82 | Restricted |
Things to do
7 places to go in Richfield Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Richfield Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Richfield Township
Richfield Little Kids ParkIn Richfield Township Park
DirectionsRichfield PlaygroundIn Richfield Township Park
Directionscove parkIn Richfiled Township Park and Boat Launch
DirectionsBoat launches in Richfield Township
canoe launch
DirectionsPlus 1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Richfield Township
Richfield campcround
DirectionsTrails & water
9 named trails and 9 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 5.3 mi
St. Helen ORV Route25.9 mi
Fire Trail1.1 mi
Sandy Trail0.4 mi
Ingleson0.4 mi
Geels ORV TRAIL0.3 mi
Old M-760.3 mi
Old M-550.3 mi
Hunter Run0.3 mi
Amy Court0.2 mi
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
2Basketball
2Baseball
2Tennis
1Beach volleyball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Richfield Township: May and July 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 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 30 | 41 | 54 | 67 | 77 | 80 | 78 | 71 | 57 | 43 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 1.9 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 2.4 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 3.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Richfield Township →
Next door
Richfield Township and its neighbors
Richfield Township has the second most mapped trails of the 7 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Foster Township231 miRichfield Township167 miNester Township147 miHiggins Township130 miOgemaw Township87 miAu Sable Township75 miBackus Township68 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richfield Township | 5% | 2.4 | 596 | 45% | A− |
| Backus Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Au Sable Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Ogemaw Township | 2% | 2.4 | 353 | 3% | B |
| Foster Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Nester Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Higgins Township | 15% | 1.8 | 3,731 | 75% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Richfield Township
Where can I hike in Richfield Township?
The longest trail networks: Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit, 154.9 miles; Kirtlands Warbler Wildlife Management Area, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Richfield Township 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 Richfield Township’s trails?
Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit and Kirtlands Warbler Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Richfield Township?
74,402 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Richfield Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,125 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Richfield Township have?
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #144 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 Richfield 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 →