Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
1,005 acres1.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Sylvan Township
Sylvan Township has 1,915 acres of parks, 1,734 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit (1.6 mi). 9% of Sylvan Township’s land is conserved, about 1,983 acres. 12% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
1,983 acres · of 34.6 sq mi of land
Trails
4.4 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,915 ac
1,734 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
12%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.4 mi
0.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Sylvan Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Sylvan Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sylvan Township is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns. 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 Sylvan Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4CPark land1,734 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,915 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home12% 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 58%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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 Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit, with 1.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Crawford Park
Managed by Osceola County
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
1,983 conserved acres
9% of Sylvan Township’s land. Who manages Sylvan Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources1,007 ac
Private owners730 ac
Town or city157 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service90 ac
State Conservation Area · 1,007 acPrivate Park · 730 acLocal Park · 157 acConservation Easement · 90 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 90 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cadillac State Forest Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 1,007 | Open |
| Birch forest Gun Club Private Park | Private owners | 730 | Open |
| Land Local Park | Town or city | 157 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Sylvan Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Sylvan Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.4 mi
off-road bike paths
When to get out
The best walking months in Sylvan 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 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 31 | 42 | 55 | 68 | 78 | 82 | 79 | 72 | 58 | 44 | 33 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 2.4 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.6 inches fall in April, the wettest month. The climate in Sylvan Township →
Next door
Sylvan Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Freeman Township43 miOsceola Township16 miSylvan Township4.4 miOrient Township2.7 miMiddle Branch Township2.5 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sylvan Township | 9% | 0.1 | 1,734 | 12% | B |
| Orient Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Middle Branch Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Osceola Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Freeman Township | 11% | 1.2 | 1,697 | 14% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Sylvan Township
Where can I hike in Sylvan Township?
The longest trail networks: Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit, 1.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Sylvan Township is conserved land?
9% 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 Sylvan Township’s trails?
Pere Marquette State Forest - Cadillac Unit and Crawford Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Sylvan Township?
0.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Sylvan Township?
29,371 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sylvan Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,915 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Sylvan Township have?
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Sylvan 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 →