Elk Rapids Day Park
Park
13 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Elk Rapids
8% of Elk Rapids’ land is conserved: 86 acres
36 acres are parks and preserves, 22 per 1,000 residents. 70% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.6 miles of mapped trail cross Elk Rapids, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
86 acres · of 1.7 sq mi of land
Trails
0.6 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
36 ac
22 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
70%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
2 beaches · 4 boat launches
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Elk Rapids have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Elk Rapids is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Elk Rapids’ overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land22 acres of park per 1,000 residents (36 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home70% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 70%
LessMore
Water is 18% of Elk Rapids’ area (0 of 2 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 7%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B to B+. 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
The longest trail network is Elk Rapids Day Park, with 0.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Veterans Memorial Park
Managed by Village of Elk Rapids
8 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve
Nature preserve
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Elk Rapids Day Park13 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Veterans Memorial Park8 acres · Village of Elk Rapids
Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve6 acres
Rotary Park5 acres
DirectionsLibrary Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
86 conserved acres
8% of Elk Rapids’ land. Water is left out: Elk Rapids has 1.7 square miles of land and 0.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Elk Rapids’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners50 ac
Town or city23 ac
County14 ac
Private Park · 50 acLocal Park · 37 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elk Rapids Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 50 | Restricted |
| Elk Rapids Park Local Park | County | 14 | Open |
| Library Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| River Street Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Fishing Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
Things to do
10 places to go in Elk Rapids
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Elk Rapids
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Elk Rapids
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Elk Rapids
Kayak LaunchIn Rotary Park
DirectionsPlus 3 boat launches without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Elk Rapids
3 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
10Tennis
3Basketball
3Baseball
2Soccer
1Pickleball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Elk Rapids: May to August
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) | 9.1 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 30 | 40 | 51 | 64 | 74 | 79 | 77 | 71 | 57 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 2.7 | 2.2 |
February is the driest month (1.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.1 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Elk Rapids →
Next door
Elk Rapids and its neighbors
Elk Rapids has the second most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk Rapids | 8% | 0.4 | 22 | 70% | B+ |
| Elk Rapids Township | 4% | 0.2 | 52 | 65% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Elk Rapids
Where can I hike in Elk Rapids?
The longest trail networks: Elk Rapids Day Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Elk Rapids is conserved land?
8% 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 Elk Rapids’ trails?
Elk Rapids Day Park and Veterans Memorial Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Elk Rapids?
5,427 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Elk Rapids or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 36 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Elk Rapids have?
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Elk Rapids 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 →