Spencer Forest
Managed by Kent County
339 acres5.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Spencer Township
Spencer Township has 716 acres of parks, 170 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Spencer Forest (5.5 mi), Cooper Creek Park (0.6 mi). 29% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 6.8 miles of mapped trail cross Spencer Township, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns · #429 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
643 acres · of 34.6 sq mi of land
Trails
6.8 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
716 ac
170 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
29%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
12
1 beach · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Spencer Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Spencer Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Spencer Township is ahead of 52% of U.S. towns, #429 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 Spencer Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land170 acres of park per 1,000 residents (716 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home29% 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 52%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 39%
Water is 6% of Spencer Township’s area (2 of 37 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 3%.
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
The longest trail network is Spencer Forest, with 5.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Cooper Creek Park
Managed by Kent County
128 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
White Pine Park
Managed by Kent County
52 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Spencer Township Park
Managed by Spencer Township
24 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 6 parks & preserves
Spencer Forest339 acres · 5.5 mi of trail · Kent County
Cooper Creek Park128 acres · 0.6 mi of trail · Kent County
DirectionsSpencer Township Park24 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Spencer Township
DirectionsWhite Pine Park52 acres · Kent County
Bass Lake Public Access1 acres · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsLincoln Lake Boating Access Site1 acres · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsWho protects it
643 conserved acres
3% of Spencer Township’s land. Water is left out: Spencer Township has 34.6 square miles of land and 2.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Spencer Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County512 ac
Private owners80 ac
Town or city51 ac
Local Park · 512 acPrivate Park · 80 acLocal Recreation Area · 51 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spencer Forest Local Park | County | 380 | Open |
| Western Michigan Beagle Club Private Park | Private owners | 80 | Open |
| White Pine Park Local Park | County | 70 | Open |
| Cooper Creek Park Local Park | County | 61 | Open |
| Camp Concordia Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 51 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Spencer Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Spencer Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Spencer Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Spencer Township
Bass Lake Boat LaunchIn Bass Lake Public Access
DirectionsLincoln Lake Boat Launch
DirectionsTrails & water
12 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
1Basketball
1Equestrian
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Spencer 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 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 44 | 57 | 69 | 79 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.8 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Spencer Township →
Next door
Spencer Township and its neighbors
Spencer 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spencer Township | 3% | 0.2 | 170 | 29% | B− |
| Oakfield Township | 1% | 0.1 | 27 | 8% | C− |
| Nelson Township | 8% | 0.1 | 248 | 39% | B |
| Montcalm Township | 4% | 0.1 | 186 | 31% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Spencer Township
Where can I hike in Spencer Township?
The longest trail networks: Spencer Forest, 5.5 miles; Cooper Creek Park, 0.6 miles; Spencer Township Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Spencer Township is conserved land?
3% 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 Spencer Township’s trails?
Spencer Forest and Cooper Creek Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Spencer Township?
19,622 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Spencer Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 716 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Spencer Township have?
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #429 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 Spencer 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 →