Sanilac Shores Underwater Preserve
Nature preserve
21 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Sanilac Township
Few parks or trails are on the map in Sanilac Township
2.2 miles of mapped trail cross Sanilac Township, 0.1 per square mile of land. 26% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 28 acres are parks and preserves, 12 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 22% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
266 acres · of 40.8 sq mi of land
Trails
2.2 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
28 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
26%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
3 beaches · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Sanilac Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Sanilac Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sanilac Township is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Sanilac Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (28 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home26% 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 22%
LessMore
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Sanilac Township. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Sanilac County Historic Village and Museum
Park
9 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Bark Shanty Community Center
Managed by Village of Port Sanilac
8 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Port Sanilac Welcome Center
Managed by Village of Port Sanilac
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 7 parks & preserves
Harbor Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Village of Port Sanilac
DirectionsSanilac Shores Underwater Preserve21 acres
DirectionsSanilac County Historic Village and Museum9 acres
Bark Shanty Community Center8 acres · Village of Port Sanilac
DirectionsPort Sanilac Welcome Center5 acres · Village of Port Sanilac
DirectionsPort Sanilac Boating Access Site4 acres · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsNorth Park1 acres · Village of Port Sanilac
Who protects it
266 conserved acres
1% of Sanilac Township’s land. Who manages Sanilac Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners187 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service79 ac
Private Park · 108 acConservation Easement · 79 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 79 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 79 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Huron Shores Golf Club Private Park | Private owners | 108 | Restricted |
| Catholic Youth Organization Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 79 | Closed |
Things to do
7 places to go in Sanilac Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Sanilac Township
3 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Sanilac Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Sanilac Township
Port Sanilac Village Ramp
DirectionsCampgrounds in Sanilac Township
CYO CampCatholic Youth Organization
DirectionsCamp OzanamSociety of St. Vincent De Paul Detroit
DirectionsTrails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
3Baseball
2Football
2Tennis
2Basketball
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Sanilac Township: May 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) | 9.3 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 32 | 41 | 53 | 66 | 75 | 80 | 78 | 72 | 59 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 2.6 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 3.4 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Sanilac Township →
Next door
Sanilac Township and its neighbors
Sanilac Township has the most mapped trails of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanilac Township | 1% | 0.1 | 12 | 26% | C− |
| Port Sanilac | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Washington Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 6 | 19% | D |
| Forester Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Sanilac Township
How much of Sanilac Township is conserved land?
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.
Are dogs allowed on Sanilac Township’s trails?
Sanilac Shores Underwater Preserve and Sanilac County Historic Village and Museum don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Sanilac Township?
2,424 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sanilac Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 28 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Sanilac Township have?
Ahead of 22% 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.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Sanilac 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 →