1
Rockport Recreation Area
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
1,818 acres6.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Outdoors · Presque Isle
Presque Isle, MI parks, trails & bike paths
About 6.7% of Presque Isle is conserved land, roughly 2,006 acres. There are about 32 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in Rockport Recreation Area (6.9 mi), Besser Natural Area (1.4 mi), and Presque Isle New Lighthouse Park (1.3 mi).
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in Presque Isle, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
Presque Isle outdoors
Conserved land
6.7%
2,006 of 29,967 acres
Trails
32 mi
0.7 mi per sq mi · 10 on conserved land
Parks & preserves
17
1,050 conserved acres per 1,000 residents
Bike routes
1.2 mi
0.0 mi lanes · 1.2 mi off-road paths
Conserved land is a share of the whole town area. Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number or a place below to zoom in© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Parks & preserves with trails
Ranked by mapped trail miles. Directions go to the nearest marked trailhead or public parking.
2
Besser Natural Area
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
77 acres1.4 mi of trail
Besser Natural Area Loop
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
3
Presque Isle New Lighthouse Park
Park
106 acres1.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
4
Crystal Point Park
Park
5 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 17 parks & preserves
Showing 1–10 of 17 parks & preserves
Rockport Recreation Area1,818 acres · 6.9 mi of trail · Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
Besser Natural Area77 acres · 1.4 mi of trail · Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
Presque Isle New Lighthouse Park106 acres · 1.3 mi of trail
Crystal Point Park5 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Presque Isle Old Lighthouse Park25 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
North Bay Beach Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Burnham's Landing3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Thompson's Harbor State Park8 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · State of Michigan
Esau Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary1,167 acres · National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration;State of Michigan
Things to do
Beaches, playgrounds, falls & more
Pick a kind of place for the list, directions, or pins on the map above.
Boat launches in Presque Isle
Grand Lake Boat Launch
Unnamed boat launch
Unnamed boat launch
Unnamed boat launch in Beach House Park
Unnamed boat launch
Unnamed boat launch in Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Unnamed boat launch
Unnamed boat launch
Unnamed boat launch
Unnamed boat launch
Trails
Named trails
Open to bikes 0.5 miHorses 3.6 miUnpaved 11.4 mi
- Besser Natural Area Loop1.2 mi
Water
Lakes & rivers
Besser Natural Area LagoonpondGrand LakelakeLake EsauLotus LakelakeNameless LakelakeSinkholeBell River
Tap a name for directions.
Who protects the land
2,006 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn't always mean open to visitors. 5 acres are conservation easements, which are usually private land. The places listed above are parks and preserves people visit.
Biking & sports
Bike routes, courts & fields
- Painted or protected bike lanes0.0 mi
- Off-road bike paths1.2 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes0.0 mi
Courts & fields
- Tennis6
- Beach volleyball3
- Basketball2
- Pickleball1
Counts include school and college facilities, which aren't always open to the public.
Public lands
The biggest protected places in Presque Isle
From USGS PAD-US: who manages each one and whether visitors are welcome.
State Recreation Area 1,849 acLocal Park 97 acPrivate Conservation 54 acConservation Easement 5 ac
| Place | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rockport Recreation AreaState Recreation Area | State parks | 1,849 | Open |
| Presque Isle Lighthouse ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 97 | Open |
| Spitler ShorePrivate Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 47 | Open |
| DaultPrivate Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 7 | Closed |
History
Historic places to visit
John Kauffman / John Kauffman HouseIn Homestead Park · Marker
Old Presque Isle LightIn Presque Isle Old Lighthouse Park
Presque Isle Rear Range LighthouseIn Township of Presque Isle Rear Range Lighthouse Park
Presque Isle CemeteryCemetery
Nearby
Presque Isle and its neighbors
Towns whose outdoors data has been built so far.
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about Presque Isle's trails yet. Muddy, icy, a bridge out, where to park: a quick post helps the next person.
Sources: trails, parks, preserves, courts and bike lanes © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), map data as of 2026-09-28. Conserved land: USGS Gap Analysis Project, Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US). Measured against the Census town boundary.
How we measure
"Trails" are OpenStreetMap paths, bridleways, public tracks and unpaved footways, plus footways inside a park or preserve or on a named trail route. Sidewalks are left out. Areas are counted on a 27.2-meter grid, so overlapping parcels count once. "Conserved" includes conservation easements, which protect land from development but are usually private property. Trailheads are the nearest marked trailhead, public parking lot or information board within about 150 meters of a preserve. Dog rules come from OpenStreetMap when someone has tagged them; otherwise we show what's typical for the land manager, or say the rules aren't recorded.