Sharon Mills County Park
Park
201 acres4.8 mi of trail
Hill TrailRiver Trail Loop
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Dwight Burdette · CC BY 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Sharon Township
Sharon Township has 1,861 acres of parks, 1,023 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Sharon Mills County Park (4.8 mi), Nan Weston Preserve at Sharon Hollow (2.5 mi), Sharon Hills Preserve (2.1 mi). 8% of Sharon Township’s land is conserved, about 1,863 acres. 33% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
1,863 acres · of 37.4 sq mi of land
Trails
17 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,861 ac
1,023 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
33%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Sharon Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Sharon Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sharon Township is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns. 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 Sharon Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (17 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land1,023 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,861 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home33% 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 73%
LessMore
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 Sharon Mills County Park, with 4.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Nan Weston Preserve at Sharon Hollow
Managed by The Nature Conservancy
231 acres2.5 mi of trail
Dogs usually not allowed
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Sharon Hills Preserve
Nature preserve
70 acres2.1 mi of trail
Tolen Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Sharon Short Hills Preserve
Nature preserve
86 acres1 mi of trail
Red TrailBlack Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Clark and Avis Spike Preserve
Nature preserve
104 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
River Raisin Preserve
Nature preserve
41 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 10 parks & preserves
Sharon Mills County Park201 acres · 4.8 mi of trail
DirectionsNan Weston Preserve at Sharon Hollow231 acres · 2.5 mi of trail · The Nature Conservancy
DirectionsSharon Hills Preserve70 acres · 2.1 mi of trail
DirectionsSharon Short Hills Preserve86 acres · 1 mi of trail
DirectionsClark and Avis Spike Preserve104 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsRiver Raisin Preserve41 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Sharonville State Game Area876 acres
DirectionsSharon Mills Preserve93 acres
DirectionsGoose Lake State Game Area5 acres
Leonard Preserve1 acres · Washtenaw County
Who protects it
1,863 conserved acres
8% of Sharon Township’s land. Who manages Sharon Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife893 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits379 ac
County269 ac
Private owners161 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)137 ac
Other state land33 ac
State Conservation Area · 893 acPrivate Conservation · 338 acLocal Conservation Area · 261 acAgricultural Easement · 178 acPrivate Park · 161 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 211 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sharonville State Game Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 888 | Open |
| Nan Weston Preserve @ Sharon Hollow Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 225 | Open |
| Southern Michigan Beagle Club Private Park | Private owners | 161 | Open |
| Clark and Avis Spike Preserve Local Conservation Area | County | 104 | Open |
| Sharon Short Hills Preserve Local Conservation Area | County | 87 | Open |
| Sharon Hills Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 70 | Open |
| Sharon Mills Preserve Local Conservation Area | County | 70 | Open |
| Mann 133 Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 42 | Closed |
| Sharon Hills County Park Local Park | County | 8 | Open |
| Goose Lake State Game Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 5 | Open |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Trails & water
5 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.8 miUnpaved · 12.0 mi
Hill Trail2.2 mi
River Trail Loop0.9 mi
Red Trail0.8 mi
Tolen Trail0.3 mi
Black Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
September is the best month for walking in Sharon Township
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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.2 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 45 | 58 | 70 | 79 | 82 | 80 | 74 | 61 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.8 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Sharon Township →
Next door
Sharon Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Sylvan Township27 miGrass Lake Township24 miSharon Township17 miManchester Township10 miNorvell Township9.5 miFreedom Township6.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sharon Township | 8% | 0.5 | 1,023 | 33% | B+ |
| Sylvan Township | 15% | 0.8 | 843 | 52% | A |
| Freedom Township | 6% | 0.2 | 170 | 2% | B− |
| Manchester Township | 3% | 0.3 | 111 | 55% | B |
| Grass Lake Township | 11% | 0.5 | 493 | 43% | A− |
| Norvell Township | 14% | 0.3 | 1,172 | 35% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Sharon Township
Where can I hike in Sharon Township?
The longest trail networks: Sharon Mills County Park, 4.8 miles; Nan Weston Preserve at Sharon Hollow, 2.5 miles; Sharon Hills Preserve, 2.1 miles; Sharon Short Hills Preserve, 1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Sharon Township is conserved land?
8% 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 Sharon Township’s trails?
Sharon Mills County Park and Nan Weston Preserve at Sharon Hollow don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Sharon Township?
32,334 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sharon Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,861 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Sharon Township have?
Ahead of 73% 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 Sharon 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 →