Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
47,100 acres238.6 mi of trail
Denton Creek ORV Trail EastLeota TrailPossum TrailPaddle Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Roscommon Township
Roscommon Township has 6,631 acres of parks, 1,488 for every 1,000 residents
250 miles of mapped trail cross Roscommon Township, 2.4 per square mile of land. 13% of Roscommon Township’s land is conserved, about 8,541 acres. The biggest trail networks: Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit (238.6 mi), Houghton Lake Wildlife Research Area (3 mi).
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns · #114 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
8,541 acres · of 103.6 sq mi of land
Trails
250 mi
2.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
6,631 ac
1,488 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
21%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.8 mi
1.8 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
8
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Roscommon Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Roscommon Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Roscommon Township is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns, #114 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 Roscommon Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails2.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (250 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land1,488 acres of park per 1,000 residents (6,631 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home21% 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 87%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 84%
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 238.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Houghton Lake Wildlife Research Area
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
5,211 acres3 mi of trail
Bowman Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
7 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
8,541 conserved acres
13% of Roscommon Township’s land. Who manages Roscommon Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife6,522 ac
State natural resources1,708 ac
Private owners183 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits123 ac
Other state land2 ac
Not recorded10 ac
State Conservation Area · 8,230 acPrivate Park · 177 acConservation Easement · 125 acLocal Recreation Area · 10 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 5 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 126 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Houghton Lake State Wildlife Research Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 5,231 | Open |
| MNRTF Parcel State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 1,631 | Restricted |
| Bear Creek Flooding State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 929 | Open |
| Townline Creek Flooding State Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 361 | Open |
| Quest Golf Club Private Park | Private owners | 153 | Restricted |
| Pere Marquette State Forest, State Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 74 | Restricted |
| Houghton Lake Sport Club Private Park | Private owners | 25 | Open |
| Ball Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 10 | Open |
| Mid-Forest Lodge Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 5 | Open |
| Cadillac State Forest Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 3 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Roscommon Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Roscommon Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Roscommon Township
1 playground without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Roscommon Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Roscommon Township
Canoe CampIn Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit
DirectionsHoughton Lake Travel Park Campground
DirectionsTrails & water
16 named trails and 8 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 29.9 mi
Denton Creek ORV Trail East18.7 mi
Leota Trail15.0 mi
Possum Trail4.3 mi
Paddle Trail3.1 mi
Lost Twin Lakes Pathway2.8 mi
Calhoun1.5 mi
Redwood1.3 mi
Panther1.3 mi
Reserve0.8 mi
Murphy0.7 mi
6 more trails
Bowman Trail
0.6 miOgemaw Trail
0.5 miLapeer Trail
0.4 miDenton Creek ORV Trail West
0.3 miTimbeck
0.2 miRollway
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
3Baseball
2Beach volleyball
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Roscommon Township: 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) | 28 | 31 | 41 | 55 | 68 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 58 | 44 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 2.4 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 3.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Roscommon Township →
Next door
Roscommon Township and its neighbors
Roscommon Township has the most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Roscommon Township250 miNester Township147 miHolland Township78 miFrost Township38 miFranklin Township37 miDenton Township33 miButterfield Township18 miLake Township9.6 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roscommon Township | 13% | 2.4 | 1,488 | 21% | A |
| Denton Township | 7% | 1.2 | 202 | 35% | A− |
| Butterfield 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 | ||||
| Holland Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Lake Township | 32% | 0.4 | 3,982 | 68% | A |
| Franklin Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Frost Township | 3% | 1.1 | 565 | 27% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Roscommon Township
Where can I hike in Roscommon Township?
The longest trail networks: Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit, 238.6 miles; Houghton Lake Wildlife Research Area, 3 miles; Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Roscommon Township is conserved land?
13% 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 Roscommon Township’s trails?
Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit and Houghton Lake Wildlife Research Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Roscommon Township?
1.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Roscommon Township?
109,091 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Roscommon Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 6,631 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Roscommon Township have?
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #114 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 Roscommon 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 →