Consuelo Diane & Charles L. Wilson Jr. Working Forest Reserve
Nature preserve
252 acres2.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
AOutdoors
Outdoors in West Traverse Township
West Traverse Township has 305 acres of parks, 172 for every 1,000 residents
21 miles of mapped trail cross West Traverse Township, 1.6 per square mile of land. 10% of West Traverse Township’s land is conserved, about 892 acres. The biggest trail networks: Consuelo Diane & Charles L. Wilson Jr. Working Forest Reserve (2.6 mi), Winter Park (2 mi), Thorne Swift Nature Preserve (0.9 mi).
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
10%
892 acres · of 13.4 sq mi of land
Trails
21 mi
1.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
305 ac
172 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
63%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.8 mi
0.8 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
3 beaches
What kind of outdoors town is West Traverse Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does West Traverse Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, West Traverse Township is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of West Traverse Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land10% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (21 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land172 acres of park per 1,000 residents (305 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home63% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 90%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Consuelo Diane & Charles L. Wilson Jr. Working Forest Reserve, with 2.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Winter Park
Park
81 acres2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Thorne Swift Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
27 acres0.9 mi of trail
Balsam TrailCedar TrailBeach Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Morris-de la Vergne & Luettjohann-Garver Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
30 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 13 parks & preserves
Consuelo Diane & Charles L. Wilson Jr. Working Forest Reserve252 acres · 2.6 mi of trail
DirectionsWinter Park81 acres · 2 mi of trail
Thorne Swift Nature Preserve27 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
DirectionsMorris-de la Vergne & Luettjohann-Garver Nature Preserve30 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
David H. Irish Nature Preserve59 acres
Five Mile Creek Nature Preserve56 acres
Charles S. Winston, Jr. Nature Preserve42 acres
Horner Nature Preserve28 acres
Henry & Anna Yeiser Nature Preserve28 acres
Weimer's Lake Nature Preserve12 acres
DirectionsArbaugh, Dean, Hansen, Pack & Sharpe Nature Preserve2 acres
Edwards Nature Preserve2 acres
DirectionsHarbor Springs Kiwanis Winter Park1 acres
Who protects it
892 conserved acres
10% of West Traverse Township’s land. Who manages West Traverse Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits484 ac
Private owners299 ac
Town or city109 ac
Private Park · 299 acPrivate Forest Stewardship · 251 acState Conservation Area · 120 acPrivate Conservation · 114 acLocal Park · 109 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 11 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consuelo Diane & Charles L. Wilson Jr. Private Forest Stewardship | Land trusts & nonprofits | 251 | Open |
| Birchwood Farms Golf and Country Club Private Park | Private owners | 205 | Restricted |
| Five Mile Creek State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 120 | Open |
| Winter Park Local Park | Town or city | 109 | Open |
| Harbor Point Country Club Private Park | Private owners | 94 | Restricted |
| Charles S. Winston Jr. Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 43 | Unknown |
| Morris-de la Vergne & Luettjohann-Garver Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 31 | Open |
| Thorne Swift Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 25 | Open |
| Weimers Lake Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 11 | Open |
| Edwards Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1 | Closed |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
4 places to go in West Traverse Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in West Traverse Township
3 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in West Traverse Township
The DunesIn Thorne Swift Nature Preserve
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 8.3 mi
Balsam Trail0.4 mi
Cedar Trail0.3 mi
Beach Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
16Tennis
4Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in West Traverse Township: May to 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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 26 | 28 | 37 | 50 | 63 | 72 | 76 | 75 | 68 | 55 | 42 | 32 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 3.0 | 2.5 |
February is the driest month (1.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 76 °F). 4.4 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in West Traverse Township →
Next door
West Traverse Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Pleasantview Township125 miLittle Traverse Township44 miFriendship Township32 miWest Traverse Township21 miHarbor Springs2.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Traverse Township | 10% | 1.6 | 172 | 63% | A |
| Harbor Springs | 9% | 1.6 | 124 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Little Traverse Township | 12% | 2.4 | 276 | 53% | A |
| Pleasantview Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Friendship Township | — 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 West Traverse Township
Where can I hike in West Traverse Township?
The longest trail networks: Consuelo Diane & Charles L. Working Forest Reserve, 2.6 miles; Winter Park, 2 miles; Thorne Swift Nature Preserve, 0.9 miles; Morris-de la Vergne & Luettjohann-Garver Nature Preserve, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of West Traverse Township is conserved land?
10% 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 West Traverse Township’s trails?
Consuelo Diane & Charles L. Working Forest Reserve and Winter Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in West Traverse Township?
0.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near West Traverse Township?
4,907 acres of parks and open public land lie inside West Traverse Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 305 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does West Traverse Township have?
Ahead of 90% 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 West Traverse 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 →