Leidy Lake Game Area
Park
105 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Colon Township
Colon Township has 127 acres of parks, 38 for every 1,000 residents
1.8 miles of mapped trail cross Colon Township, 0.1 per square mile of land. 38% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 31% of U.S. towns · #577 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
108 acres · of 34.4 sq mi of land
Trails
1.8 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
127 ac
38 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
38%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.3 mi
0.3 mi paths
Highest peak
942 ft
Colon Mountain
Lakes & rivers
7
1 beach · 3 boat launches
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Colon Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Colon Township is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns, #577 of 701 in Michigan. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Colon Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land38 acres of park per 1,000 residents (127 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home38% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 31%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 18%
Water is 5% of Colon Township’s area (2 of 36 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read under 1%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Long Lake Public Access
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Palmer Lake Beach
Managed by Colon Township
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Colon Community Park9 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsLeidy Lake Game Area105 acres
Long Lake Public Access3 acres · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Palmer Lake Beach2 acres · Colon Township
Palmer Lake Public Access2 acres · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsSturgeon Lake Public Access1 acres · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Who protects it
108 conserved acres
1% of Colon Township’s land. Water is left out: Colon Township has 34.4 square miles of land and 2.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Colon Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife107 ac
State Conservation Area · 107 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leidy Lake State Game Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 107 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Colon Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Colon Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Colon Township
1 playground without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Colon Township
Long Lake Boat Launch
DirectionsPalmer Lake Boat LaunchIn Palmer Lake Public Access
DirectionsSturgeon Lake Boat Launch
DirectionsPeaks in Colon Township
Colon Mountain942 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
7 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
6Baseball
1Beach volleyball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Farrand HallBuilding · listed 1972
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Colon Township: April and July to September
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 35 | 46 | 59 | 71 | 80 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 62 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 3.5 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 2.3 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.2 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Colon Township →
Next door
Colon Township and its neighbors
Colon Township has the most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Colon Township1.8 miLeonidas Township1.7 miNottawa Township1.3 miBurr Oak Township0.9 miMatteson Township0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colon Township | 1% | 0.1 | 38 | 38% | C |
| Matteson Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 7 | 4% | D |
| Leonidas Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 47 | 8% | C− |
| Nottawa Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 23 | 42% | C |
| Burr Oak Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 55 | 34% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Colon Township
Where can I hike in Colon Township?
The longest trail networks: Colon Community Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Colon Township is conserved land?
1% of its land, against a typical 5% for a Michigan town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Colon Township’s trails?
Leidy Lake Game Area and Colon Community Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Colon Township?
0.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Colon Township?
1,702 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Colon Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 127 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Colon Township have?
Ahead of 31% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #577 of 701 in Michigan. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Colon Township neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →