Gagetown State Game Area
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
606 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
First Presbyterian Church · Photo: kennethaw88 · CC BY 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Elkland Township
Elkland Township has 1,103 acres of parks, 315 for every 1,000 residents
6% of Elkland Township’s land is conserved, about 1,262 acres. 78% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3.9 miles of mapped trail cross Elkland Township, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns · #286 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
1,262 acres · of 35.0 sq mi of land
Trails
3.9 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,103 ac
315 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
78%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Elkland Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Elkland Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Elkland Township is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns, #286 of 701 in Michigan. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Elkland Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4CPark land315 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,103 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home78% 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
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 59%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. 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.
Cass City State Game Area
Nature preserve
274 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Cass City Public Park
Managed by Cass City
65 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Northwood Park
Managed by Village of Cass City
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
1,262 conserved acres
6% of Elkland Township’s land. Who manages Elkland Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife877 ac
Town or city143 ac
Private owners141 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)101 ac
State Conservation Area · 877 acLocal Park · 143 acPrivate Park · 141 acConservation Easement · 101 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 101 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gagetown State Game Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 601 | Open |
| Cass City State Game Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 276 | Open |
| City of Cass Park Local Park | Town or city | 143 | Open |
| Private Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 73 | Restricted |
| Cedar Swamp Hunt Club Private Park | Private owners | 68 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Elkland Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Elkland Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.2 mi
Cass City Walking Trail1.3 mi
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
10Baseball
5Basketball
4Tennis
3Soccer
2Football
1Softball
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).
First Presbyterian ChurchBuilding · listed 2006
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Elkland Township: May 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) | 9.3 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 32 | 42 | 55 | 68 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 59 | 46 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 3.4 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Elkland Township →
Next door
Elkland Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Novesta Township12 miGreenleaf Township6.4 miElkland Township3.9 miGrant Township3.9 miElmwood Township1.2 miCass City1.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elkland Township | 6% | 0.1 | 315 | 78% | B+ |
| Novesta Township | 8% | 0.3 | 1,267 | 29% | B+ |
| Elmwood Township | 2% | under 0.1 | 364 | 39% | C+ |
| Grant Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Greenleaf Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Cass City | 12% | 0.6 | 63 | 97% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Elkland Township
How much of Elkland Township is conserved land?
6% 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 Elkland Township’s trails?
Gagetown State Game Area and Cass City State Game Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Elkland Township?
16,396 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Elkland Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,103 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Elkland Township have?
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #286 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 Elkland 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 →