Riverbend County Park
Managed by Branch County
22 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Stancer-Road-North Coldwater River Bridge · Photo: Rod Detty (ardee4) · CC BY 2.0C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Union Township
Union Township has 23 acres of parks, 7.9 for every 1,000 residents
1.9 miles of mapped trail cross Union Township, 0.1 per square mile of land. 50% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 17% of U.S. towns · #652 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
10 acres · of 35.5 sq mi of land
Trails
1.9 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
23 ac
7.9 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
50%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Union Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Union Township is ahead of 17% of U.S. towns, #652 of 701 in Michigan. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park comes closest.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Union Township’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%DTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land7.9 acres of park per 1,000 residents (23 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home50% 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 17%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 7%
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Union 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
10 conserved acres
under 1% of Union Township’s land. Who manages Union Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service10 ac
Conservation Easement · 10 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 10 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
Things to do
8 places to go in Union Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Union Township
7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Union Township
Kayak Launch
DirectionsTrails & 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
4Baseball
2Tracks
2Soccer
1Football
1Basketball
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).
Stancer-Road-North Coldwater River BridgeStructure · listed 1999
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Union 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 46 | 59 | 70 | 79 | 83 | 80 | 74 | 61 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.1 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Union Township →
Next door
Union Township and its neighbors
Union Township has the most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 8 | 50% | C− |
| Sherwood Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 6 | 24% | D |
| Girard Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 43 | 28% | C− |
| Batavia Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 1 | 7% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Union Township
How much of Union 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 Union Township’s trails?
Riverbend County Park and Riverview Community Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Union Township?
1,240 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Union Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 23 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Union Township have?
Ahead of 17% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #652 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 Union 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 →