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Parks and Recreation

Morton Township is nestled in the heart of Michigan and boasts over 1500 acres of lakes, rivers and freshwater streams. There are limitless opportunities for water sports enthusiasts – whether you favor fishing, golfing, swimming, boating, water skiing, canoeing, kayaking or tubing.

In addition, we abound with nationally-rated golf courses such as St. Ives, Tullymore, The Royal, The Pines and The Highlands, all suited for every level of golfing skill from nearly professional to family outings.

The seven Mecosta County Parks are located throughout the county on waterfront properties where you can enjoy swimming, boating, fishing, picnicking and a variety of other fun activities.  Vehicle permits are required for park entrance in addition to camping fees.  You can purchase daily, weekly, or monthly passes.

School Section Lake Veteran’s Park is located within our township at 9003 90th Avenue, Mecosta. This park is a pleasant combination of history, nature, camping and family fun. The trademark feature of the 86-acre park is our large sand swimming area, beach and historic fieldstone concessions building. The park is home to an original one room schoolhouse which continues to offer educational summer programs.

For more information visit the links below:

Canoe & Kayak Launch

The River Access Park for launching your canoe or kayak onto the Little Muskegon River is located on 7 Mile Road at the East Branch Bridge.  The River Park includes free parking, a picnic table, a rain garden, and a launching dock with steps for easy access.

This river is an average of waist deep, depending on the time of the year and is a clear, clean river with a steady current to float. The next exit is about 2 hours down the river at 5 Mile Road at Altona Park.  From Altona Park you can paddle another couple of hours to an area near Rustford.  Here you can portage around the dam and paddle another couple of hours to Morley Mill Pond where you will find a parking lot, gas stations, and restaurants.

Biking & Hiking Trails

Morton Township has made a future commitment to installing 4′ bike lanes on many of our road pavement projects.  Bike lanes have been added to 80th Ave., from 11 Mile north to Cleveland Rd. and west to 90 Ave., with additional mileage to be done in 2021. 

Morton Township will be opening a new Trail Head in Mecosta, off of Franklin St. north of M-20.  The Trail will head west out of town to 80th Ave., following the old CSX railroad tracks. Our ultimate township goal is to connect to the White Pine Trail in Big Rapids.

Bike lanes have also been created from School Section Lake County Park south to Buchanan Rd. and then west to the 4-way stop light.  Our ultimate goal is to have a second connection to the White Pine Trail in Stanwood, which will create a 33-mile loop between these two bike lanes and the White Pine Trail.  In Stanwood, it will be only a four-mile ride to connect to the Midwest recognized 47-mile International Mountain Biking Association sanctioned mountain bike trail, The Dragon, all on the back waters of the Muskegon River.

Also available to serious bikers is the White Pine Trail, which runs just north of Grand Rapids, 92 miles north to Cadillac.  This trail is ranked in the Top 100 Rail-to-Trails in the country!  Day bike trips to Reed City and back, for instance, are currently enjoyed regularly by local biking clubs.  An alternative would be a morning or afternoon walk or bike ride on one of our local trails. 

Take a walk through the beautiful pine trees of Morton Township’s latest trail addition – Pine Grove Trail!  It’s located at the west end of Morton Township’s Business Park on Nine Mile Rd. in the same park as our Recycling Center.  Road signs in both directions indicate where to turn at Mid-State Dr.  You can see the park sign from Mid-State Dr. within the park, with ample parking right behind the sign.  This 40-acre canvas of pine trees has nearly 3 miles of trails carved through-out it.  A couple of benches have been installed with a picnic table and trail signs soon to be added, but you can enjoy the hike on this non-motorized trail right now, including snowshoeing in the winter months.