Vassar Memorial Park
Managed by City of Vassar
58 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
McKinley School · Photo: kennethaw88 · CC BY 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Vassar
7% of Vassar’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 125 acres are parks and preserves, 46 per 1,000 residents. 7% of Vassar’s land is conserved, about 91 acres.
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns · #195 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
91 acres · of 2.1 sq mi of land
Trails
0.3 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
125 ac
46 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.8 mi
1.8 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Vassar?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Vassar have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Vassar is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #195 of 701 in Michigan. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Vassar’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land46 acres of park per 1,000 residents (125 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 80%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 72%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. 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 Vassar Memorial Park, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 7 parks & preserves
Vassar Memorial Park58 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Vassar
DirectionsLions Park24 acres · City of Vassar
DirectionsHarper Park16 acres · City of Vassar
DirectionsRiverside Park7 acres · City of Vassar
DirectionsSticks Park7 acres · City of Vassar
DirectionsOpen Field5 acres · City of Vassar
Hillside Park1 acres · City of Vassar
DirectionsWho protects it
91 conserved acres
7% of Vassar’s land. Who manages Vassar’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city91 ac
Local Park · 91 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vassar Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 57 | Open |
| Riversider Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| White Birch Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Open Field Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Harper Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Riverside Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| T. North Pavilion Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Gazebo Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Hillside Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Vassar
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Vassar
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Vassar
3 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Biking & sports
1.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
9Baseball
3Tennis
3Basketball
2Tracks
2Football
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Vassar: 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 | 83 | 80 | 74 | 60 | 47 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 1.9 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 3.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Vassar →
Next door
Vassar 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vassar | 7% | 0.1 | 46 | 99%+ | A− |
| Vassar Township | 5% | 0.1 | 216 | 32% | B− |
| Tuscola Township | 2% | 0.1 | under 1 | 11% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Vassar
Where can I hike in Vassar?
The longest trail networks: Vassar Memorial Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Vassar is conserved land?
7% 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’s trails?
Vassar Memorial Park and Lions Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Vassar?
1.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Vassar?
12,201 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Vassar or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 125 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Vassar have?
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #195 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 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 →