Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Hgjudd · CC BY-SA 3.0The biggest trail networks: Barnes County Park (2.7 mi), Torch Bay Beach (0.6 mi). 25% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 7.7 miles of mapped trail cross Torch Lake Township, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Torch Lake Township is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
Water is 28% of Torch Lake Township’s area (6 of 21 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 3%.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
The longest trail network is Barnes County Park, with 2.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
4% of Torch Lake Township’s land. Water is left out: Torch Lake Township has 15.1 square miles of land and 6.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Torch Lake Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 46 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barnes Park Local Park | County | 178 | Open |
| A-Ga-Ming Golf Club Private Park | Private owners | 169 | Restricted |
| Torch Lake Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
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 | 30 | 39 | 51 | 64 | 73 | 78 | 77 | 70 | 57 | 44 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 2.7 | 2.3 |
February is the driest month (1.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 4.2 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Torch Lake Township →
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Torch Lake Township | 4% | 0.5 | 163 | 25% | B |
| Eastport | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Forest Home Township | 7% | 1.9 | 467 | 41% | A |
| Central Lake Township | 3% | 0.2 | 226 | 51% | B |
| Milton Township | 2% | 0.7 | 235 | 15% | B |
| Banks Township | 2% | 0.1 | 45 | 29% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
The longest trail networks: Barnes County Park, 2.7 miles; Torch Bay Beach, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
4% 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.
Barnes County Park and Torch Bay Beach don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
6,282 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Torch Lake Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 240 of them inside the town line.
Ahead of 63% 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.
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Torch Lake Township neighbors.
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 →