Stites Natural Area
Managed by Leelanau Convervancy
50 acres1.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Gpwitteveen · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Suttons Bay Township
Suttons Bay Township has 380 acres of parks, 130 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Stites Natural Area (1.8 mi), Bahle Park (0.9 mi), Herman Park (0.6 mi). 14 miles of mapped trail cross Suttons Bay Township, 0.6 per square mile of land. 6% of Suttons Bay Township’s land is conserved, about 880 acres.
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns · #270 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
880 acres · of 24.5 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
380 ac
130 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
44%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.8 mi
2.8 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Suttons Bay Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Suttons Bay Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Suttons Bay Township is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #270 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 Suttons Bay Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land130 acres of park per 1,000 residents (380 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home44% 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 72%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 62%
Water is 41% of Suttons Bay Township’s area (17 of 42 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 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 Stites Natural Area, with 1.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Herman Park
Managed by Suttons Bay
116 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 13 parks & preserves
Stites Natural Area50 acres · 1.8 mi of trail · Leelanau Convervancy
DirectionsBahle Park27 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
DirectionsHerman Park116 acres · 0.6 mi of trail · Suttons Bay
DirectionsLeo Creek Preserve8 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsGrand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve10,836 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsBelanger Creek Preserve63 acres · Leelanau Convervancy
Graham Green Park22 acres
Lake Leelanau Baseball Diamond5 acres · Leland Township
DirectionsThe Narrows DNR Boat Ramp2 acres
DirectionsSutton Park2 acres
DirectionsWater Wheel Park1 acres
Directions45th Parallel Park1 acres
Van Steimel Park1 acres · Suttons Bay Township
Who protects it
880 conserved acres
6% of Suttons Bay Township’s land. Water is left out: Suttons Bay Township has 24.5 square miles of land and 17.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Suttons Bay Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
USDA easements (NRCS)567 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government130 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits111 ac
Town or city59 ac
Other state land13 ac
Agricultural Easement · 567 acLocal Park · 185 acPrivate Conservation · 111 acConservation Easement · 13 acLocal Recreation Area · 4 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 579 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 19 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Herman Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 81 | Unknown |
| Belanger Creek Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 63 | Restricted |
| 45th Parallel Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 50 | Unknown |
| Stites Natural Area Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 48 | Closed |
| Bahle Park Local Park | Town or city | 31 | Open |
| Marina Beach Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Greene Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Steimel Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Village Fairgrounds Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 4 | Restricted |
Things to do
12 places to go in Suttons Bay Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Suttons Bay Township
4 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Suttons Bay Township
4 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Suttons Bay Township
4 boat launches without a name on the map.
Biking & sports
2.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
10Tennis
4Basketball
3Baseball
3Soccer
2Softball
2Pickleball
2Beach volleyball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Suttons Bay Township: May to August
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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 29 | 39 | 50 | 63 | 73 | 77 | 76 | 69 | 56 | 43 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 2.7 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (1.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 4.0 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Suttons Bay Township →
Next door
Suttons Bay Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Leland Township42 miLeelanau Township30 miSuttons Bay Township14 miBingham Township4.3 miLake Leelanau0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suttons Bay Township | 6% | 0.6 | 130 | 44% | B+ |
| Leland Township | 66% | 0.9 | 550 | 58% | A |
| Bingham Township | 3% | 0.2 | 94 | 26% | B− |
| Leelanau Township | 16% | 0.6 | 1,959 | 41% | A− |
| Lake Leelanau | — 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 Suttons Bay Township
Where can I hike in Suttons Bay Township?
The longest trail networks: Stites Natural Area, 1.8 miles; Bahle Park, 0.9 miles; Herman Park, 0.6 miles; Leo Creek Preserve, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Suttons Bay Township is conserved land?
6% 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 Suttons Bay Township’s trails?
Stites Natural Area and Bahle Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Suttons Bay Township?
2.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Suttons Bay Township?
6,835 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Suttons Bay Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 380 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Suttons Bay Township have?
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #270 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 Suttons Bay 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 →