Crosswinds Marsh Preserve
Nature preserve
1,168 acres15.2 mi of trail
Horse TrailBlue Heron TrailBald Eagle TrailMallard Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Sumpter Township
Sumpter Township has 1,208 acres of parks, 116 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Crosswinds Marsh Preserve (15.2 mi), Lower Huron Metropark (1.2 mi), Marvin L. Banotai Municipal Park (0.6 mi). 23% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 19 miles of mapped trail cross Sumpter Township, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns · #341 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
1,226 acres · of 37.4 sq mi of land
Trails
19 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,208 ac
116 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
23%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.3 mi
0.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Sumpter Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Sumpter Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sumpter Township is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns, #341 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 Sumpter Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (19 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land116 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,208 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home23% 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 64%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 51%
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 Crosswinds Marsh Preserve, with 15.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lower Huron Metropark
Park
86 acres1.2 mi of trail
Bob White Nature Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Marvin L. Banotai Municipal Park
Park
81 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
1,226 conserved acres
5% of Sumpter Township’s land. Who manages Sumpter Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County745 ac
Town or city334 ac
Private owners100 ac
Other state land46 ac
Local Park · 1,079 acState Conservation Area · 100 acConservation Easement · 46 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 47 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crosswinds Marsh County Park Local Park | County | 745 | Open |
| Sherwood Park Local Park | Town or city | 171 | Open |
| Crosswinds Marsh State Conservation Area | Private owners | 100 | Open |
| Lower Huron Metropark Local Park | Town or city | 91 | Open |
| Graham Park Local Park | Town or city | 72 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in Sumpter Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Sumpter Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Sumpter Township
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Sumpter Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Sumpter Township
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
13 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 4.5 miUnpaved · 12.0 mi
Horse Trail4.4 mi
Blue Heron Trail1.6 mi
Bald Eagle Trail1.3 mi
Rupprecht Trail1.0 mi
Mallard Trail0.6 mi
Bob White Nature Trail0.5 mi
Muskrat Trail0.5 mi
Woodpecker Loop Trail0.4 mi
Pedestrian Trail0.4 mi
Service Trails0.3 mi
3 more trails
Bluegill Trail
0.3 miWoodpecker Trail
0.3 miWetland Garden Trail
0.2 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
1Beach volleyball
1Basketball
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Sumpter Township: April, 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) | 32 | 35 | 46 | 59 | 71 | 80 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 62 | 49 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 3.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Sumpter Township →
Next door
Sumpter Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Huron Township26 miVan Buren Township20 miSumpter Township19 miAugusta Township2.7 miExeter Township0.4 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sumpter Township | 5% | 0.5 | 116 | 23% | B |
| Exeter Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 17 | 20% | C− |
| Huron Township | 15% | 0.7 | 230 | 49% | A− |
| Van Buren Township | 7% | 0.6 | 42 | 55% | B+ |
| Augusta Township | 1% | 0.1 | 19 | 10% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Sumpter Township
Where can I hike in Sumpter Township?
The longest trail networks: Crosswinds Marsh Preserve, 15.2 miles; Lower Huron Metropark, 1.2 miles; Marvin L. Banotai Municipal Park, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Sumpter Township is conserved land?
5% 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 Sumpter Township’s trails?
Crosswinds Marsh Preserve and Lower Huron Metropark don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Sumpter Township?
0.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Sumpter Township?
14,599 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sumpter Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,208 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Sumpter Township have?
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #341 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 Sumpter 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 →