More than half of Watersmeet Township’s land is conserved: 81%
81% of Watersmeet Township’s land is conserved, about 131,958 acres. 57 acres are parks and preserves, 54 per 1,000 residents. 254 miles of mapped trail cross Watersmeet Township, 1.0 per square mile of land.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Watersmeet Township is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Watersmeet Township’s overall grade.
Water is 8% of Watersmeet Township’s area (23 of 278 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 75%.
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.
The longest trail network is Ottawa National Forest - Watersmeet Ranger District, with 163.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Ottawa National Forest - Watersmeet Ranger District
Managed by United States Forest Service
131,762 acres163.8 mi of trail
Agonikak National Recreation TrailWatersmeet Snowmobile #3Iron River - Marenisco TrailForest Road 3978-S+1
Duck Lake Public Access1 acres · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Who protects it
131,958 conserved acres
81% of Watersmeet Township’s land. Water is left out: Watersmeet Township has 254.9 square miles of land and 23.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Watersmeet Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service131,667 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits212 ac
Private owners78 ac
Other state land1 ac
National Forest · 131,661 acConservation Easement · 219 acPrivate Park · 78 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 219 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
Ottawa National Forest
National Forest
U.S. Forest Service
131,661
Open
Gateway Golf Course
Private Park
Private owners
78
Restricted
Things to do
24 places to go in Watersmeet Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Watersmeet Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Watersmeet Township
Allen Lake Boat LaunchIn Ottawa National Forest - Watersmeet Ranger District
The best walking months in Watersmeet Township: May and August
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)
9.0
10.3
11.8
13.5
15.0
15.8
15.4
14.2
12.5
10.8
9.3
8.6
High (°F)
21
26
37
50
65
74
77
75
67
53
37
26
Rain (in)
1.7
1.4
1.8
2.8
3.4
3.7
4.0
3.3
3.6
3.8
2.2
2.0
February is the driest month (1.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 4.0 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Watersmeet Township →
Next door
Watersmeet Township and its neighbors
Watersmeet Township has the second most mapped trails of the 7 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Watersmeet Township
Where can I hike in Watersmeet Township?
The longest trail networks: Ottawa National Forest - Watersmeet Ranger District, 163.8 miles; Sylvania Wilderness, 30.1 miles; Ontonagon Wild And Scenic River, 22.4 miles; Ottawa National Forest - Bessemer Ranger District, 4.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Watersmeet Township is conserved land?
81% 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 Watersmeet Township’s trails?
Ottawa National Forest - Watersmeet Ranger District and Sylvania Wilderness don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Watersmeet Township?
486,230 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Watersmeet Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 109,697 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Watersmeet Township have?
Ahead of 85% 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.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Watersmeet Township neighbors.