Vassar State Game Area
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
281 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Vassar Township
Vassar Township has 834 acres of parks, 216 for every 1,000 residents
32% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5% of Vassar Township’s land is conserved, about 1,042 acres. 4.7 miles of mapped trail cross Vassar Township, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 55% of U.S. towns · #408 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
1,042 acres · of 35.0 sq mi of land
Trails
4.7 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
834 ac
216 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
32%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Vassar Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Vassar Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Vassar Township is ahead of 55% of U.S. towns, #408 of 701 in Michigan. 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 Vassar Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4CPark land216 acres of park per 1,000 residents (834 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home32% 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 55%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 42%
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Vassar Roadside Park
Managed by Michigan Department of Transportation
8 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Vassar Memorial Park
Managed by City of Vassar
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
1,042 conserved acres
5% of Vassar Township’s land. Who manages Vassar Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners595 ac
State fish & wildlife285 ac
Town or city163 ac
Private Park · 365 acState Conservation Area · 285 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 230 acLocal Other or Unknown · 90 acLocal Park · 73 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vassar State Game Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 285 | Open |
| Michigan Sportsmans Hunt Club Private Park | Private owners | 233 | Open |
| Wesleyan Church Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 159 | Open |
| Private Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 133 | Restricted |
| Gravel Pit Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 90 | Closed |
| Wonderland Coon Association Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 71 | Open |
| Township of Vassar Park Local Park | Town or city | 67 | Open |
| Vassar Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Vassar Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Vassar Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
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
1Basketball
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Vassar Township: June 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 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 43 | 57 | 69 | 79 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 47 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 1.9 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Vassar Township →
Next door
Vassar Township and its neighbors
Vassar Township has the second most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Millington Township11 miVassar Township4.7 miTuscola Township4.4 miFremont Township1.7 miJuniata Township1.6 miVassar0.3 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vassar Township | 5% | 0.1 | 216 | 32% | B− |
| Vassar | 7% | 0.1 | 46 | 99%+ | A− |
| Juniata Township | 15% | under 0.1 | 1,999 | 47% | B+ |
| Tuscola Township | 2% | 0.1 | under 1 | 11% | D |
| Millington Township | 5% | 0.3 | 210 | 17% | B |
| Fremont Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 28 | 34% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Vassar Township
How much of Vassar Township is conserved land?
5% 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 Vassar Township’s trails?
Vassar State Game Area and Vassar Roadside Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Vassar Township?
19,449 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Vassar Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 834 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Vassar Township have?
Ahead of 55% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #408 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 Vassar 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 →