Begg Park
Park
22 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Springfield
Springfield has 49 acres of parks, 9.3 for every 1,000 residents
92% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.3 miles of mapped trail cross Springfield, 0.1 per square mile of land. 3% of Springfield’s land is conserved, about 72 acres.
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns · #459 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
72 acres · of 3.6 sq mi of land
Trails
0.3 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
49 ac
9.3 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
92%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.3 mi
0.1 mi lanes · 2.3 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Springfield?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Springfield have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Springfield is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns, #459 of 701 in Michigan. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Springfield’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4CPark land9.3 acres of park per 1,000 residents (49 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home92% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 47%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 35%
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.
Rothchild Park
Park
16 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Upton Park of Springfield
Park
6 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Freedom Park
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Upton Park of Springfield6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsBegg Park22 acres
Rothchild Park16 acres
Freedom Park2 acres
Springfield Park1 acres
Who protects it
72 conserved acres
3% of Springfield’s land. Who manages Springfield’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city37 ac
Other state land23 ac
Private owners11 ac
Local Park · 37 acConservation Easement · 23 acPrivate Park · 11 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Begg Park Local Park | Town or city | 24 | Open |
| Springbrook Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 11 | Restricted |
| Upton Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Rothchild Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Freedon Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Carol B Hinton Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Springfield
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Springfield
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Springfield
Springfield Dog ParkIn Rothchild Park
DirectionsBiking & sports
2.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
2.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
5Tennis
2Baseball
1Basketball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Springfield: 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 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 45 | 58 | 70 | 79 | 83 | 80 | 74 | 61 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 3.3 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 2.6 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.2 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Springfield →
Next door
Springfield and its neighbors
Springfield has the second most mapped trails of the 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Springfield | 3% | 0.1 | 9 | 92% | B− |
| Bedford Township | 1% | 0.1 | 1 | 20% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Springfield
Where can I hike in Springfield?
The longest trail networks: Upton Park of Springfield, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Springfield 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 Springfield’s trails?
Begg Park and Rothchild Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Springfield?
2.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of painted or protected lanes and 2.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Springfield?
6,462 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Springfield or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 49 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Springfield have?
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #459 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 Springfield 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 →