Manistee National Forest - Baldwin Ranger District
Managed by United States Forest Service
1,821 acres1.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Weare Township
Weare Township has 329 acres of parks, 258 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Manistee National Forest - Baldwin Ranger District (1.8 mi), Pentwater State Game Area (0.8 mi). 9% of Weare Township’s land is conserved, about 2,141 acres. 14% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 66% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
2,141 acres · of 35.9 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
329 ac
258 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
14%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Weare Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Weare Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Weare Township is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns. 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 Weare Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land258 acres of park per 1,000 residents (329 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home14% 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 66%
LessMore
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 Manistee National Forest - Baldwin Ranger District, with 1.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Pentwater State Game Area
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
261 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Dumaw Woodland Nature Preserve
Managed by Land Conservancy of West Michigan
58 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
2,141 conserved acres
9% of Weare Township’s land. Who manages Weare Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service1,821 ac
State fish & wildlife262 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)57 ac
National Forest · 1,821 acState Conservation Area · 262 acConservation Easement · 57 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 57 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manistee National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 1,821 | Open |
| Pentwater River State Game Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 262 | Open |
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
US 31-Pentwater River BridgeStructure · listed 1999
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Weare Township: May 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 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 32 | 42 | 55 | 67 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 58 | 45 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 3.1 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 3.9 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Weare Township →
Next door
Weare Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Crystal Township45 miPentwater Township19 miWeare Township14 miHart Township6.2 miRiverton Township1.8 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weare Township | 9% | 0.4 | 258 | 14% | B+ |
| Pentwater Township | 20% | 1.4 | 1,129 | 77% | A+ |
| Hart Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Crystal Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Riverton Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 6 | 4% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Weare Township
Where can I hike in Weare Township?
The longest trail networks: Manistee National Forest - Baldwin Ranger District, 1.8 miles; Pentwater State Game Area, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Weare Township is conserved land?
9% 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 Weare Township’s trails?
Manistee National Forest - Baldwin Ranger District and Pentwater State Game Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Weare Township?
43,259 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Weare Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,160 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Weare Township have?
Ahead of 66% 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 Weare 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 →