Thompson Lake Public Access
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
COutdoors
Outdoors in Sherman Township
Sherman Township has 145 acres of parks, 42 for every 1,000 residents
26% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4.3 miles of mapped trail cross Sherman Township, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 33% of U.S. towns · #565 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
136 acres · of 33.0 sq mi of land
Trails
4.3 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
145 ac
42 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
26%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
9
1 beach · 6 boat launches
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Sherman Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sherman Township is ahead of 33% of U.S. towns, #565 of 701 in Michigan. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Sherman Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4CPark land42 acres of park per 1,000 residents (145 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A−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 33%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 19%
Water is 6% of Sherman Township’s area (2 of 35 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 1%.
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.
Prairie River Lake Public Access
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Omena Lake Public Access
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Fish Lake Public Access
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
136 conserved acres
1% of Sherman Township’s land. Water is left out: Sherman Township has 33.0 square miles of land and 2.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Sherman Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city135 ac
Other state land1 ac
Local Recreation Area · 135 acConservation Easement · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Hill Camp and Nature Conservation Area Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 135 | Open |
Things to do
16 places to go in Sherman Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Sherman Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Sherman Township
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Sherman Township
Fish Lake Boat LaunchIn Fish Lake Public Access
DirectionsOmena Lake Boat LaunchIn Omena Lake Public Access
DirectionsPrairie River Lake Boat Launch
DirectionsThompson Lake Public Boat Launch
DirectionsPlus 2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Sherman Township
3 scenic views without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Sherman Township
Amigo Centre
DirectionsAmigo Park
DirectionsTrails & water
9 lakes & rivers
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
6Tennis
2Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Sherman Township: April and 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 35 | 46 | 59 | 71 | 80 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 62 | 48 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 2.8 | 2.3 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.3 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Sherman Township →
Next door
Sherman Township and its neighbors
Sherman Township has the most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Sherman Township4.3 miSturgis2.1 miNottawa Township1.3 miFlorence Township1.1 miBurr Oak Township0.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherman Township | 1% | 0.1 | 42 | 26% | C |
| Sturgis | 2% | 0.3 | 10 | 92% | B− |
| Nottawa Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 23 | 42% | C |
| Burr Oak Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 55 | 34% | C− |
| Florence Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 60 | 4% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Sherman Township
How much of Sherman 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 Sherman Township’s trails?
Thompson Lake Public Access and Prairie River Lake Public Access don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Sherman Township?
2,053 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sherman Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 145 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Sherman Township have?
Ahead of 33% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #565 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 Sherman 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 →