1
Mackinac State Forest - Atlanta Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
3,088 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
Outdoors · Sanborn
Sanborn, MI parks, trails & bike paths
About 17% of Sanborn is conserved land, roughly 5,238 acres. There are about 13 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in Mackinac State Forest - Atlanta Unit (1.2 mi).
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in Sanborn, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
Sanborn outdoors
Conserved land
17%
5,238 of 31,623 acres
Trails
13 mi
0.3 mi per sq mi · 7 on conserved land
Parks & preserves
9
2,410 conserved acres per 1,000 residents
Bike routes
6.4 mi
0.0 mi lanes · 0.0 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
Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Managed by National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration;State of Michigan
3,731 acres
Dog rules not recorded
3
Bird Island Nature Sanctuary
Managed by Michigan Nature Association
15 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
4
Au Sable State Forest - Grayling Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
14 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Website
All 9 parks & preserves
Mackinac State Forest - Atlanta Unit3,088 acres · 1.2 mi of trail · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary3,731 acres · National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration;State of Michigan
Bird Island Nature Sanctuary15 acres · Michigan Nature Association
Au Sable State Forest - Grayling Unit14 acres · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Ossineke Park8 acres
Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge6 acres · United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Michigan Islands Wilderness6 acres · United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Devils River Boat Launch5 acres · Sanborn Township
Sanborn Park4 acres · Sanborn Township
Things to do
Beaches, playgrounds, falls & more
Pick a kind of place for the list, directions, or pins on the map above.
Campgrounds in Sanborn
Blue Bell Campsite
Ossineke State Forest CampgroundFee · In Mackinac State Forest - Atlanta Unit · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Pewabic Campsite
South Point Campsite
Twin Pines Campsite
Trails
Named trails
Unpaved 6.8 mi
- Algonquin Trail2.7 mi
- Chippewa Trail1.2 mi
- 4WD0.5 mi
Water
Lakes & rivers
Tap a name for directions.
Who protects the land
5,238 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Biking & sports
Bike routes, courts & fields
- Painted or protected bike lanes0.0 mi
- Off-road bike paths0.0 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes6.4 mi
Courts & fields
- Baseball5
- Soccer1
Counts include school and college facilities, which aren't always open to the public.
Public lands
The biggest protected places in Sanborn
From USGS PAD-US: who manages each one and whether visitors are welcome.
State Conservation Area 3,123 acState Park 2,099 acNational Wildlife Refuge 11 acLocal Park 10 ac
| Place | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta State Forest AreaState Conservation Area | State natural resources | 3,123 | Open |
| Negwegon State ParkState Park | State parks | 2,099 | Open |
| Michigan Islands National Wildlife RefugeNational Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 11 | Restricted |
| Sanborn FieldLocal Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Sanborn Beach ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
History
Historic places to visit
Ossineke Veterans MemorialWar memorial
German CemeteryCemetery
Saint Catherine's CemeteryCemetery
Sanborn Township CemeteryCemetery
Nearby
Sanborn and its neighbors
Towns whose outdoors data has been built so far.
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about Sanborn'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 27.7-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.