Stanton State Game Area
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
1,818 acres5.5 mi of trail
Colby Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Boys' Club Building · Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Sidney Township
Sidney Township has 1,737 acres of parks, 667 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Stanton State Game Area (5.5 mi). 8% of Sidney Township’s land is conserved, about 1,808 acres. 37% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns · #266 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
1,808 acres · of 33.9 sq mi of land
Trails
13 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,737 ac
667 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
37%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
7.6 mi
7.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
17
1 beach · 6 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Sidney Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Sidney Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sidney Township is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #266 of 701 in Michigan. 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 Sidney Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (13 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land667 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,737 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home37% 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 72%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 62%
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 Stanton State Game Area, with 5.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Derby Lake Public Access
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Pearl Lake Park
Managed by Village of Sheridan
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Nevins Lake Public Access
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
1,808 conserved acres
8% of Sidney Township’s land. Who manages Sidney Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife1,640 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)81 ac
Town or city78 ac
Private owners9 ac
State Conservation Area · 1,640 acConservation Easement · 81 acLocal Park · 78 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 9 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 81 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stanton State Game Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 1,640 | Open |
| City of Stanton Park Local Park | Town or city | 78 | Open |
| Utility Corridor Private Other or Unknown | Private owners | 9 | Open |
Things to do
9 places to go in Sidney Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Sidney Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Sidney Township
Pearl Lake PlaygroundIn Pearl Lake Park
DirectionsPlus 1 playground without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Sidney Township
Derby Lake Public Boat Launch
DirectionsNevins Lake Public Boat Launch
DirectionsPearl Lake Park Boat Launch
DirectionsPlus 3 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 17 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.5 mi
Colby Trail0.6 mi
Meadow Loop0.4 mi
Biking & sports
7.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
7.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
6Baseball
3Tennis
3Football
2Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Boys' Club BuildingBuilding · listed 2004
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Sidney Township: July and 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 | 43 | 57 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 2.8 | 2.3 |
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 Sidney Township →
Next door
Sidney Township and its neighbors
Sidney Township has the most mapped trails of the 7 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Sidney Township13 miEureka Township12 miFairplain Township10 miEvergreen Township8.0 miDouglass Township3.6 miMontcalm Township1.9 miStanton0.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sidney Township | 8% | 0.4 | 667 | 37% | B+ |
| Montcalm Township | 4% | 0.1 | 186 | 31% | B− |
| Fairplain Township | 22% | 0.3 | 2,564 | 25% | A− |
| Evergreen Township | 14% | 0.2 | 1,028 | 48% | A− |
| Douglass Township | 1% | 0.1 | 9 | 15% | C− |
| Stanton | 2% | 0.3 | 39 | 91% | B+ |
| Eureka Township | 23% | 0.4 | 961 | 46% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Sidney Township
Where can I hike in Sidney Township?
The longest trail networks: Stanton State Game Area, 5.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Sidney 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 Sidney Township’s trails?
Stanton State Game Area and Derby Lake Public Access don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Sidney Township?
7.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 7.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Sidney Township?
24,249 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sidney Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,737 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Sidney Township have?
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #266 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 Sidney 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 →