The town has a total area of 36.3 square miles, all of it land.
The south and east edges of the six by six mile square that would become Goodrich were first surveyed in 1851 by crews working for the U.S. government. In December of 1861 a different crew of surveyors marked all the section corners in the township, walking through the woods and swamps, measuring with chain and compass. When done, the deputy surveyor filed this general description:

The surface of this Township is mostly gently rolling and the Soil is principally 2nd Rate being well adapted to agricultural purposes. The Timber is a mixture of Hemlock, Birch, Sugar, Fir and Maple. There is but little Swamp land in the Township but it is well watered by numerous small streams of pure water which are tributaries of the Rib River which through the Township in a South Easterly direction. It is a Stream that does not overflow having but few tributaries to affect its rise and fall. There are no settlers in this Township.