Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
1,977 acres7.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
George and Martha Hitchcock House · Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Surrey Township
Surrey Township has 384 acres of parks, 104 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit (7.9 mi). 18 miles of mapped trail cross Surrey Township, 0.5 per square mile of land. 34% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 66% of U.S. towns · #324 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
1,116 acres · of 35.1 sq mi of land
Trails
18 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
384 ac
104 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
34%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.1 mi
6.1 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
14
What kind of outdoors town is Surrey Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Surrey Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Surrey Township is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns, #324 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 Surrey 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 (18 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land104 acres of park per 1,000 residents (384 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home34% 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 66%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 54%
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 Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit, with 7.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Central Michigan University Nethercut Woodland
Managed by Central Michigan University
251 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Alta Warren Parsons Memorial Nature Sanctuary
Managed by Michigan Nature Association
79 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
1,116 conserved acres
5% of Surrey Township’s land. Who manages Surrey Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits610 ac
Private owners330 ac
Other state land162 ac
Town or city16 ac
Conservation Easement · 531 acPrivate Conservation · 215 acPrivate Park · 173 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 157 acState Conservation Area · 26 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 529 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eagle Glen Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 173 | Restricted |
| State Forest State Conservation Area | Other state land | 162 | Open |
| MI State Board of Education Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 119 | Open |
| Alta Warren Parsons Memorial Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 79 | Open |
| Farwell Area Schools Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 38 | Open |
| Farwell Little League Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Littlefield Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Trails & water
1 named trail and 14 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 0.5 miUnpaved · 1.4 mi
Horse Track0.5 mi
Biking & sports
6.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
6.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
8Baseball
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).
George and Martha Hitchcock HouseBuilding · listed 1982
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Surrey 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 32 | 42 | 55 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 72 | 59 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 2.3 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Surrey Township →
Next door
Surrey Township and its neighbors
Surrey Township has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Lincoln Township22 miSurrey Township18 miGarfield Township14 miGrant Township7.2 miGilmore Township2.3 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surrey Township | 5% | 0.5 | 104 | 34% | B+ |
| Grant Township | 2% | 0.2 | 52 | 23% | C+ |
| Garfield Township | 9% | 0.4 | 1,040 | 35% | B+ |
| Lincoln Township | 7% | 0.6 | 795 | 23% | B+ |
| Gilmore Township | 1% | 0.1 | 63 | 12% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Surrey Township
Where can I hike in Surrey Township?
The longest trail networks: Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit, 7.9 miles; Central Michigan University Nethercut Woodland, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Surrey 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 Surrey Township’s trails?
Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit and Central Michigan University Nethercut Woodland don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Surrey Township?
6.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 6.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Surrey Township?
12,849 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Surrey Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 384 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Surrey Township have?
Ahead of 66% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #324 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 Surrey 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 →