Tompkins Bridge
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Jackson Field Office
23 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
M-50-Sandstone Creek Bridge · Photo: kennethaw88 · CC BY 4.0DOutdoors
Outdoors in Tompkins Township
Few parks or trails are on the map in Tompkins Township
8% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.5 miles of mapped trail cross Tompkins Township. 31 acres are parks and preserves, 12 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 14% of U.S. towns · #667 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
98 acres · of 36.0 sq mi of land
Trails
0.5 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
31 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
8%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Tompkins Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Tompkins Township is ahead of 14% of U.S. towns, #667 of 701 in Michigan. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
D
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Tompkins Township’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (31 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home8% 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 14%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 5%
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Tompkins 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 D to C−. 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 Tompkins Bridge, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Minard's Mill Park
Managed by Jackson County
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Trestle Bridge Access Site
Managed by State of Michigan, Department of Natural Resources
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
98 conserved acres
under 1% of Tompkins Township’s land. Who manages Tompkins Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service93 ac
County5 ac
Conservation Easement · 93 acLocal Park · 5 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 93 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minard Mills Park Local Park | County | 5 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Tompkins Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Tompkins Township
Island playgroundIn Minard's Mill Park
DirectionsPlus 1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Tompkins Township
Tompkins BridgeIn Tompkins Bridge
DirectionsPicnic areas in Tompkins Township
Island picnic siteIn Minard's Mill Park
DirectionsRobert D. Wymer Memorial PavilionIn Minard's Mill Park
DirectionsTrails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
M-50-Sandstone Creek BridgeStructure · listed 2000
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Tompkins 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 45 | 58 | 69 | 79 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 61 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 2.6 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.9 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Tompkins Township →
Next door
Tompkins Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tompkins Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 12 | 8% | D |
| Rives Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 4 | 2% | D |
| Springport Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 2 | 21% | D |
| Onondaga Township | 5% | 0.1 | 136 | 14% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Tompkins Township
Where can I hike in Tompkins Township?
The longest trail networks: Tompkins Bridge, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Tompkins Township is conserved land?
under 1% 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 Tompkins Township’s trails?
Tompkins Bridge and Minard's Mill Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Tompkins Township?
3,486 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Tompkins Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 31 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Tompkins Township have?
Ahead of 14% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #667 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 Tompkins 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 →