Buell Lake County Park
Park
597 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Harry C. Tinker House · Photo: kennethaw88 · CC BY 4.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Thetford Township
Thetford Township has 665 acres of parks, 101 for every 1,000 residents
0.2 miles of mapped trail cross Thetford Township. 9% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 6% of Thetford Township’s land is conserved, about 1,364 acres.
Ahead of 40% of U.S. towns · #522 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
1,364 acres · of 34.5 sq mi of land
Trails
0.2 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
665 ac
101 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
9%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Thetford Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Thetford Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Thetford Township is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns, #522 of 701 in Michigan. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Thetford Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4DPark land101 acres of park per 1,000 residents (665 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home9% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 40%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 26%
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Thetford Township. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. 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 Buell Lake County Park, with 0.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
1,364 conserved acres
6% of Thetford Township’s land. Who manages Thetford Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners1,061 ac
County260 ac
Town or city43 ac
Private Other or Unknown · 946 acLocal Park · 304 acPrivate Park · 114 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utility Corridor Private Other or Unknown | Private owners | 946 | Open |
| Buell Lake County Park Local Park | County | 256 | Open |
| Private Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 114 | Restricted |
| Township of Thetford Park Local Park | Town or city | 43 | Open |
| Genessee Recreation Area Local Park | County | 5 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Thetford Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Thetford Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Thetford Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
2Baseball
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).
Harry C. Tinker HouseBuilding · listed 1982
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Thetford Township: July to 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) | 9.3 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 43 | 57 | 70 | 79 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 47 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Thetford Township →
Next door
Thetford Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Genesee Township7.3 miVienna Township6.6 miForest Township2.7 miArbela Township2.4 miThetford Township0.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thetford Township | 6% | under 0.1 | 101 | 9% | C+ |
| Forest Township | 5% | 0.1 | 140 | 35% | B− |
| Vienna Township | 2% | 0.2 | 7 | 33% | C |
| Arbela Township | 1% | 0.1 | 28 | 4% | C |
| Genesee Township | 19% | 0.3 | 168 | 42% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Thetford Township
Where can I hike in Thetford Township?
The longest trail networks: Buell Lake County Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Thetford 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 Thetford Township’s trails?
Buell Lake County Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Thetford Township?
18,613 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Thetford Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 665 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Thetford Township have?
Ahead of 40% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #522 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 Thetford 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 →