Upper Macatawa Natural Area
Managed by Ottawa County Parks and Recreation Commission
1,233 acres7.4 mi of trail
Orange Loop (1.92 miles)1.21 Mile Loop
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Zeeland Township
Zeeland Township has 767 acres of parks, 63 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Upper Macatawa Natural Area (7.4 mi), Van Zoeren Woods (1.4 mi), Geerlings Farm Park (1 mi). 42% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 12 miles of mapped trail cross Zeeland Township, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns · #376 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
710 acres · of 34.4 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
767 ac
63 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
42%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
24 mi
24 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Zeeland Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Zeeland Township is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns, #376 of 701 in Michigan. 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 Zeeland Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land63 acres of park per 1,000 residents (767 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home42% 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 58%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 46%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. 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 Upper Macatawa Natural Area, with 7.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Van Zoeren Woods
Park
29 acres1.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Geerlings Farm Park
Nature preserve
116 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail sign
Poppen Woods
Nature preserve
53 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
710 conserved acres
3% of Zeeland Township’s land. Who manages Zeeland Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County606 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits409 ac
Other state land74 ac
Private owners52 ac
Local Conservation Area · 659 acAgricultural Easement · 409 acConservation Easement · 74 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 51 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Macatawa Natural Area - East Local Conservation Area | County | 535 | Open |
| Upper Macatawa Natural Area - West Local Conservation Area | County | 72 | Open |
| Poppen Woods Local Conservation Area | Private owners | 52 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Zeeland Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Scenic views in Zeeland Township
Upper Macatawa Natural Area Scenic OverlookIn Upper Macatawa Natural Area
DirectionsPlus 1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in Zeeland Township
3 picnic areas without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.7 miUnpaved · 9.8 mi
Orange Loop (1.92 miles)2.7 mi
1.21 Mile Loop1.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
24 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
24 mi
off-road bike paths
Upper Macatawa Natural Area Mountain Bike TrailBike route
2.7 miCourts & fields
3Basketball
2Tennis
1Volleyball
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Zeeland Township: 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 34 | 45 | 58 | 70 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 61 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 3.0 | 2.5 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 3.9 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Zeeland Township →
Next door
Zeeland Township and its neighbors
Zeeland Township has the most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Zeeland Township12 miHolland Township8.5 miOverisel Township5.5 miJamestown Township4.7 miBlendon Township1.0 miZeeland0.8 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zeeland Township | 3% | 0.4 | 63 | 42% | B |
| Zeeland | 2% | 0.3 | 7 | 97% | B− |
| Jamestown Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 10 | 45% | C− |
| Overisel Township | 1% | 0.2 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Blendon Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 24 | 9% | C− |
| Holland 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 Zeeland Township
Where can I hike in Zeeland Township?
The longest trail networks: Upper Macatawa Natural Area, 7.4 miles; Van Zoeren Woods, 1.4 miles; Geerlings Farm Park, 1 miles; Drenthe Grove Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Zeeland Township is conserved land?
3% 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 Zeeland Township’s trails?
Upper Macatawa Natural Area and Van Zoeren Woods don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Zeeland Township?
24 miles of bike routes are on the map: 24 of off-road paths. Named routes: Upper Macatawa Natural Area Mountain Bike Trail.
Is there public land near Zeeland Township?
20,147 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Zeeland Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 767 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Zeeland Township have?
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #376 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 Zeeland 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 →