Looking Glass Natural Area
Managed by Mid-Michigan Land Conservancy
92 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Shiawassee Township
Shiawassee Township has 340 acres of parks, 124 for every 1,000 residents
0.1 miles of mapped trail cross Shiawassee Township. 36% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4% of Shiawassee Township’s land is conserved, about 947 acres.
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns · #488 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
947 acres · of 36.4 sq mi of land
Trails
0.1 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
340 ac
124 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
36%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
850 ft
Hog Island
Lakes & rivers
3
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Shiawassee Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Shiawassee Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Shiawassee Township is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns, #488 of 701 in Michigan. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Shiawassee Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4DPark land124 acres of park per 1,000 residents (340 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home36% 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 44%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 30%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
West Shiatown Park
Managed by Shiawassee County
39 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
East Shiatown Park
Managed by Shiawassee County
19 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Geeck Road Park
Managed by Shiawassee County
7 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 5 parks & preserves
Looking Glass Natural Area92 acres · Mid-Michigan Land Conservancy
West Shiatown Park39 acres · Shiawassee County
DirectionsEast Shiatown Park19 acres · Shiawassee County
DirectionsGeeck Road Park7 acres · Shiawassee County
DirectionsLion's Park3 acres · Village of Bancroft
DirectionsWho protects it
947 conserved acres
4% of Shiawassee Township’s land. Who manages Shiawassee Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land264 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)229 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service195 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits189 ac
Private owners151 ac
County113 ac
Agricultural Easement · 388 acState Conservation Area · 260 acConservation Easement · 230 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 151 acLocal Other or Unknown · 113 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 424 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bancroft Floodplain-OWOSSO YMCA State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 189 | Closed |
| Utility Corridor Private Other or Unknown | Private owners | 151 | Open |
| Shiawassee County Agri. Society Local Other or Unknown | County | 113 | Open |
| Forest Reserve State Conservation Area | Other state land | 71 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Shiawassee Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Shiawassee Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Shiawassee Township
1 playground without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Shiawassee Township
Canoe Launch / Pull OutIn Geeck Road Park
DirectionsPeaks in Shiawassee Township
Hog Island850 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Shiawassee Township
Iron Wheels Motorcycle Club
DirectionsTrails & water
3 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
2Basketball
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Shiawassee 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) | 9.3 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 44 | 57 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 47 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 1.9 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.9 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Shiawassee Township →
Next door
Shiawassee Township and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shiawassee Township | 4% | under 0.1 | 124 | 36% | C+ |
| Vernon Township | 3% | under 0.1 | 71 | 52% | B− |
| Antrim Township | 4% | 0.1 | 307 | 23% | B− |
| Bennington Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 3 | 1% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Shiawassee Township
How much of Shiawassee 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 Shiawassee Township’s trails?
Looking Glass Natural Area and West Shiatown Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Shiawassee Township?
3,657 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Shiawassee Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 340 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Shiawassee Township have?
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #488 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 Shiawassee 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 →