Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
3,109 acres10.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Elmira Township
Elmira Township has 29 miles of mapped trails, 0.8 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit (10.7 mi). 1% of Elmira Township’s land is conserved, about 303 acres.
Ahead of 19% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
303 acres · of 35.8 sq mi of land
Trails
29 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
9
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Elmira Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Elmira Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Elmira Township is ahead of 19% of U.S. towns. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Elmira Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (29 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land0.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (0 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13DParks close to home0% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%D−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 19%
LessMore
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Elmira Township. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D 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
The longest trail network is Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit, with 10.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
303 conserved acres
1% of Elmira Township’s land. Who manages Elmira Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners196 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits107 ac
Private Park · 196 acUnknown Easement · 107 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 107 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gaylord Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 136 | Restricted |
| Green Trees Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 60 | Restricted |
Things to do
2 places to go in Elmira Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Elmira Township
Lake Twenty-Seven Public Boat Access
DirectionsCampgrounds in Elmira Township
Lost Valley Bible Camp and Retreat CenterFee · Assemblies of God, Michigan District
DirectionsTrails & water
9 lakes & rivers
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
1Tennis
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Elmira Township: 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 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°F) | 25 | 28 | 38 | 51 | 65 | 75 | 78 | 77 | 69 | 55 | 41 | 30 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 3.0 | 2.6 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 4.1 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Elmira Township →
Next door
Elmira Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Hayes Township203 miHudson Township64 miWarner Township53 miElmira Township29 miLivingston Township19 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elmira Township | 1% | 0.8 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
| Hayes Township | 1% | 2.9 | 3 | 14% | C |
| Hudson Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Warner Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Livingston Township | under 1% | 0.5 | under 1 | 9% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Elmira Township
Where can I hike in Elmira Township?
The longest trail networks: Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit, 10.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Elmira 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 Elmira Township’s trails?
Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Elmira Township?
7,635 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Elmira Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), almost none of it inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Elmira Township have?
Ahead of 19% 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 Elmira 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 →