Gladwin County Recreation Area
Managed by Gladwin County
167 acres8.8 mi of trail
Tough NutsSkunk ValleyTroll StrollCut Your Bars+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Sage Township
Sage Township has 823 acres of parks, 354 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Gladwin County Recreation Area (8.8 mi). 42% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4% of Sage Township’s land is conserved, about 945 acres.
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns · #340 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
945 acres · of 34.2 sq mi of land
Trails
9.7 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
823 ac
354 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
42%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
11
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Sage Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Sage Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sage Township is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns, #340 of 701 in Michigan. 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 Sage Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land354 acres of park per 1,000 residents (823 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home42% 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 64%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 52%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. 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 Gladwin County Recreation Area, with 8.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Gladwin State Game Area
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
373 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
George and Sue Lane Preserve
Managed by Little Forks Conservancy
258 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Sage Township Park
Managed by Sage Township
9 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 5 parks & preserves
Gladwin County Recreation Area167 acres · 8.8 mi of trail · Gladwin County
DirectionsGladwin State Game Area373 acres · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
George and Sue Lane Preserve258 acres · Little Forks Conservancy
Sage Township Park9 acres · Sage Township
DirectionsPratt Lake Public Access2 acres · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsWho protects it
945 conserved acres
4% of Sage Township’s land. Who manages Sage Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits1,044 ac
County160 ac
Other state land3 ac
Conservation Easement · 784 acPrivate Conservation · 264 acLocal Resource Management Area · 160 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 521 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| George & Sue Lane Property Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 264 | Open |
| Local Forest Local Resource Management Area | County | 160 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Sage Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Sage Township
Pratt Lake Boat LaunchIn Pratt Lake Public Access
DirectionsWiggin's Lake Boat Launch
DirectionsScenic views in Sage Township
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
11 named trails and 11 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 7.9 miUnpaved · 7.0 mi
Tough Nuts1.6 mi
Skunk Valley1.2 mi
Troll Stroll1.1 mi
Rick's Revenge1.0 mi
Cut Your Bars0.9 mi
Snidley Whiplash0.8 mi
Tilt0.8 mi
Shangri-La0.4 mi
Flowtopia0.3 mi
Down By The River0.2 mi
1 more trails
Porcupine Pass
0.1 miWhen to get out
The best walking months in Sage 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 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 32 | 42 | 56 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 72 | 59 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 2.3 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Sage Township →
Next door
Sage Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Sherman Township41 miHamilton Township15 miSage Township9.7 miGrout Township4.6 miGladwin Township3.3 miGladwin0.6 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sage Township | 4% | 0.3 | 354 | 42% | B |
| Grout Township | 4% | 0.1 | 153 | 8% | C+ |
| Hamilton Township | 5% | 0.4 | 599 | 15% | B |
| Sherman Township | 23% | 1.2 | 5,048 | 5% | A− |
| Gladwin Township | under 1% | 0.1 | under 1 | 4% | D |
| Gladwin | 5% | 0.2 | 42 | 86% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Sage Township
Where can I hike in Sage Township?
The longest trail networks: Gladwin County Recreation Area, 8.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Sage Township is conserved land?
4% 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 Sage Township’s trails?
Gladwin County Recreation Area and Gladwin State Game Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Sage Township?
28,487 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sage Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 823 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Sage Township have?
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #340 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 Sage 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 →