Silver Beach County Park
Park
29 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: ShadZ01 · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in St. Joseph
7% of St. Joseph’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Silver Beach County Park (0.5 mi), Tiscornia Park (0.5 mi). 2.2 miles of mapped trail cross St. Joseph, 0.7 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns · #107 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
142 acres · of 3.2 sq mi of land
Trails
2.2 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
154 ac
19 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.4 mi
3.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
4 beaches · 4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is St. Joseph?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does St. Joseph have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, St. Joseph is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #107 of 701 in Michigan. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of St. Joseph’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land19 acres of park per 1,000 residents (154 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13BParks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 88%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 85%
Water is 33% of St. Joseph’s area (2 of 5 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 5%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Silver Beach County Park, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Southwest Michigan Underwater Preserve
Nature preserve
824 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Kiwanis Park
Managed by City of St. Joseph
20 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 11 parks & preserves
Silver Beach County Park29 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsTiscornia Park14 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsKiwanis Park20 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of St. Joseph
DirectionsCity Boat Launch5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of St. Joseph
DirectionsSouthwest Michigan Underwater Preserve824 acres
DirectionsLookout Park13 acres
DirectionsLake Bluff Park9 acres
DirectionsDickenson Park8 acres
Margaret Upton Arboretum4 acres
DirectionsWhittlesey Park3 acres
DirectionsMilton Park2 acres
Who protects it
142 conserved acres
7% of St. Joseph’s land. Water is left out: St. Joseph has 3.2 square miles of land and 1.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages St. Joseph’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city117 ac
County24 ac
Local Park · 130 acLocal Recreation Area · 8 acLocal Conservation Area · 4 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silver Beach County Park Local Park | County | 24 | Open |
| Dickinson Park Local Park | Town or city | 24 | Open |
| Kiwanis Park Local Park | Town or city | 23 | Open |
| Lions Park Beach Local Park | Town or city | 21 | Open |
| Tiscornia Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Lake Bluff Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Lookout Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| City Boat Launch Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Compass Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Upton Arboretum Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 4 | Open |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
18 places to go in St. Joseph
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in St. Joseph
Lions Beach
DirectionsPlus 3 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in St. Joseph
Whirlpool Compass FountainIn Silver Beach County Park
DirectionsPlus 7 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks in St. Joseph
St. Joseph Dog ParkIn Kiwanis Park
DirectionsBoat launches in St. Joseph
4 boat launches without a name on the map.
Scenic views in St. Joseph
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.3 mi
off-road bike paths
1.0 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
9Tennis
6Baseball
2Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 4 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in St. Joseph: May to 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.2 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 35 | 45 | 57 | 68 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 74 | 62 | 48 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 4.1 | 2.8 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.1 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in St. Joseph →
Next door
St. Joseph 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Joseph | 7% | 0.7 | 19 | 99%+ | A |
| St. Joseph Township | 11% | 0.9 | 37 | 96% | A |
| Benton Harbor | 3% | 0.7 | 17 | 96% | B+ |
| Fair Plain | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Shoreham | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in St. Joseph
Where can I hike in St. Joseph?
The longest trail networks: Silver Beach County Park, 0.5 miles; Tiscornia Park, 0.5 miles; Kiwanis Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of St. Joseph is conserved land?
7% 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 St. Joseph’s trails?
Silver Beach County Park and Tiscornia Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in St. Joseph?
4.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.3 of off-road paths and 1.0 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near St. Joseph?
3,458 acres of parks and open public land lie inside St. Joseph or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 154 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does St. Joseph have?
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #107 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 St. Joseph 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 →