The town of Gladwin, is located in the northwest part of Gladwin County, at the intersection of M-61 and M-18.

Gladwin is known as a summer recreation area, near the Tittabawasee River, Wiggins Lake, and Pratt Lake. In addition, there are many other lakes within a short drive away, including Houghton Lake which is 30 miles away and Higgins Lake which is 40 miles away, and Lake Huron which is only about 40 minutes away.  Boating, water-skiing, tubing are popular summer activities. In the winter, there is snowmobiling, skiing, and skating. Fishing is very big in Gladwin, during both summer and winter.

Gladwin is also known for its great hunting. It is a popular area for ducks, geese, pheasants, and turkey.  By far, the most popular hunting is for white-tailed deer.

Inside the city of Gladwin there is a lot of activity. Gladwin hosts the Gladwin City Park. Locals use if for a day of fun in the sun, picnicking and playing in the Cedar River. Campers come from all over to stay at the Gladwin Park, enjoying the quiet of the park, and the local atmosphere.  

On the edge of town, is the local sports complex, with its enviable facilities for soccer, baseball, softball, and youth football. Hundreds of children take advantage of these facilities every day, all spring through fall. Since the fields are of different sizes, many adults leagues use the fields also.

Across the road is the new community arena for hockey and ice skating. This wonderful facility houses youth hockey, free skating and skating lessons for all ages. There is a complete fitness center, a gymnasium, and the ice rink is home for the Mid-Michigan STORM, the cooperative high school hockey team. Players come from Gladwin, Beaverton, and Harrison . Also housed in the Community Center is the Gladwin County Library.

Gladwin has shown great support for its medical community. Our local hospital, Mid-Michigan Medical Center--Gladwin, is affiliated with the nationally respected Mid-Michigan Regional Medical Center, located in Midland. As a result of its hospital affiliation, many specialists practice in Gladwin, or have office hours in here, and the resources of Midland's Regional Center are always available to Gladwin residents. Gladwin has many doctors and dentists who reside, and have their local practices, here. In addition, Gladwin has a branch of the Ten-Sixteen House, for substance abuse issues, and hosts Midland-Gladwin Mental Health facilities. On our main street, Cedar Avenue, there is the extremely popular specialty coffee shop called Northern Expresso, which is run by Midland-Gladwin Mental Health, providing employment for some of their clients.

Gladwin has its own airport, Zettel Field. In addition, the small hobby plane flying enthusiasts enjoy the facility by the airport, created especially for them.

Gladwin's downtown, offers a variety of interesting stores, including "Simply Charmed", a unique gift shop, an antique mall, a terrific bakery, the Riverwalk (a mall including condo apartments, gift store, clothing store, restaurant, jewelry store, and spa).

In addition, people come from all over to shop at both "The Frank E. Ward Co.: gift shop, which has been a fixture on Cedar Ave, for generations, and to shop at "The Oak Outlet", a huge, wonderful store for oak, and all kinds of finished wood, furniture. There are many local Amish craftsmen in the Gladwin area, and some of the furniture at the Oak Outlet is Amish-made.

Gladwin has a dozen churches, of a variety of denominations. Sacred Heart Catholic Church also supports their own school, for grades K-8. Skeels Baptist Church, north of our town, has their own school, Skeels Christian, K-12.

Gladwin Schools:

Gladwin Community Schools belong to the Clare-Gladwin Regional Educational Service District, along with schools from Beaverton, Clare, Harrison, and Farwell. Gladwin Schools offer pre-school, Developmental Kindergarten, grades K-12, and an Alternative Secondary School. The district has approximately 2,000 students.

In 2008, Gladwin Schools received an Education Excellence from the State, for their intense work on developing curriculum. The "QUEST-ions" program has receive accolades from all over the state and has received national recognition. Test scores are improving dramatically in all areas. 

This year each building received AYP (Annual Yearly Progress) as assigned by the State.  Our Intermediate School received an over all grade of "A".

The buildings include:

Gladwin Elementary School -- Pre-School, Developmental Kindergarten, and grades K, 1, and 2.

Gladwin Intermediate School -- Grades 3, 4, and 5

Gladwin Junior High -- Grades 6, 7, and 8

Gladwin High School -- Grades 9, 10, 11, and 12

COOL School -- Gladwin Alternative Education and Adult Education classes

In addition, high school students may go to Mid-Michigan Community College for vocational classes, M-Tec, and to take dual-enrollment college classes.

The community is very supportive of their schools. Recently, they passed a bond issue which permitted repair and improvements of all buildings. The city has just recently completed tennis courts for school and community use.

The school's outdoor athletic facilities include a newly resurfaced football field, and new field house, newly resurfaced Wilmot (baseball) Field and new dug-outs, Johnson (softball) Field, newly resurfaced soccer field, new track, new tennis courts, and a variety of practice fields.