Herrick Recreation Area
Managed by Isabella County
116 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
COutdoors
Outdoors in Wise Township
Wise Township has 130 acres of parks, 112 for every 1,000 residents
1.0 miles of mapped trail cross Wise Township. 16% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 29% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
198 acres · of 36.5 sq mi of land
Trails
1.0 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
130 ac
112 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
16%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
7.2 mi
6.9 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
5
1 beach · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Wise Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Wise Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Wise Township is ahead of 29% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Wise Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land112 acres of park per 1,000 residents (130 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home16% 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 29%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. 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 Herrick Recreation Area, with 0.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lawrence A. McDonald Wildlife Sanctuary
Managed by Isabella County
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
198 conserved acres
1% of Wise Township’s land. Who manages Wise Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
USDA easements (NRCS)184 ac
Other state land14 ac
Conservation Easement · 184 acState Conservation Area · 14 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 184 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Forest State Conservation Area | Other state land | 14 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Wise Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Wise Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Wise Township
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Wise Township
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
5 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
7.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
6.9 mi
off-road bike paths
0.3 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
3Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Wise Township: July and 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) | 29 | 32 | 43 | 56 | 69 | 79 | 83 | 80 | 73 | 59 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 2.3 | 1.9 |
February is the driest month (1.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 3.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Wise Township →
Next door
Wise Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Denver Township24 miSheridan Township3.3 miWarren Township2.3 miVernon Township2.1 miWise Township1.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wise Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 112 | 16% | C |
| Vernon Township | 2% | 0.1 | 1 | 12% | D |
| Sheridan Township | under 1% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D− |
| Warren Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 39 | 12% | C |
| Denver Township | under 1% | 0.7 | 6 | 4% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Wise Township
Where can I hike in Wise Township?
The longest trail networks: Herrick Recreation Area, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Wise Township is conserved land?
1% 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 Wise Township’s trails?
Herrick Recreation Area and Lawrence A. McDonald Wildlife Sanctuary don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Wise Township?
7.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 6.9 of off-road paths and 0.3 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Wise Township?
4,607 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Wise Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 130 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Wise Township have?
Ahead of 29% 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 Wise 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 →