Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
548 acres are parks and preserves, 226 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Escanaba River State Forest - Gwinn Unit (South) (32.4 mi), Honor Camp Park (5 mi). 56% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 70% 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, Sands Township is ahead of 70% 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 Escanaba River State Forest - Gwinn Unit (South), with 32.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
under 1% of Sands Township’s land. Who manages Sands Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holli Family Partnership State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 80 | Open |
| Sands Township Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 35 | Open |
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Plus 1 peak without a name on the map.
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
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) | 9.0 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 15.8 | 15.5 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.6 |
| High (°F) | 23 | 27 | 37 | 49 | 63 | 73 | 78 | 75 | 67 | 54 | 39 | 28 |
| Rain (in) | 1.9 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 2.8 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 2.8 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 2.6 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 3.7 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Sands Township →
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sands Township | under 1% | 2.4 | 226 | 56% | B+ |
| Forsyth Township | 1% | 1.0 | 323 | 54% | B+ |
| Richmond Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Marquette Township | 20% | 3.8 | 502 | 56% | A+ |
| Chocolay Township | 3% | 0.9 | 186 | 37% | B+ |
| Harvey | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Marquette | 6% | 7.2 | 20 | 84% | A |
| Negaunee Township | 1% | 0.9 | 55 | 11% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
The longest trail networks: Escanaba River State Forest - Gwinn Unit (South), 32.4 miles; Honor Camp Park, 5 miles; Heartwood Forestland, 0.4 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.
Escanaba River State Forest - Gwinn Unit (South) and Honor Camp Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
0.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of off-road paths. Named routes: NTN Marquette South Trails.
9,759 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sands Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 548 of them inside the town line.
Ahead of 70% 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 Sands 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 →