Shiawassee River State Game Area
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
3,283 acres11.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
AOutdoors
Outdoors in James Township
More than half of James Township’s land is conserved: 52%
52% of James Township’s land is conserved, about 5,542 acres. 3,274 acres are parks and preserves, 1,912 per 1,000 residents. 23 miles of mapped trail cross James Township, 1.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
52%
5,542 acres · of 16.7 sq mi of land
Trails
23 mi
1.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
3,274 ac
1,912 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
14%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.8 mi
3.8 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is James Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does James Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, James Township is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of James Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land52% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (23 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land1,912 acres of park per 1,000 residents (3,274 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home14% 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 88%
LessMore
Water is 12% of James Township’s area (2 of 19 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 46%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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
The longest trail network is Shiawassee River State Game Area, with 11.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
2,097 acres6.1 mi of trail
Woodland TrailWoodland Trail (north)River Loop (north)Marsh Loop (north)+1
No dogs
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
5,542 conserved acres
52% of James Township’s land. Water is left out: James Township has 16.7 square miles of land and 2.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages James Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service4,311 ac
State fish & wildlife3,271 ac
Private owners90 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)27 ac
National Wildlife Refuge · 4,311 acState Conservation Area · 3,271 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 90 acConservation Easement · 27 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 26 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 4,311 | Restricted |
| Shiawassee River State Game Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 3,271 | Open |
| Utility Corridor Private Other or Unknown | Private owners | 90 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in James Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in James Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
5 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 8.9 mi
Woodland Trail2.6 mi
Woodland Trail (north)1.1 mi
River Loop (north)0.5 mi
Marsh Loop (north)0.5 mi
Marsh Loop (west)0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
3.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.8 mi
off-road bike paths
When to get out
The best walking months in James Township: July and 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 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 44 | 57 | 70 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 61 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 1.9 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 3.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in James Township →
Next door
James Township and its neighbors
James Township has the most mapped trails of the 7 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
James Township23 miSpaulding Township15 miSaginaw Township11 miSwan Creek Township8.9 miSaginaw8.6 miThomas Township6.1 miShields1.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Township | 52% | 1.4 | 1,912 | 14% | A |
| Spaulding Township | 46% | 0.6 | 51 | 53% | A− |
| Saginaw | 7% | 0.5 | 28 | 76% | A− |
| Saginaw Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Swan Creek Township | 31% | 0.4 | 1,814 | 32% | A− |
| Thomas Township | 5% | 0.2 | 35 | 30% | B− |
| Shields | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in James Township
Where can I hike in James Township?
The longest trail networks: Shiawassee River State Game Area, 11.4 miles; Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge, 6.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of James Township is conserved land?
52% 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 James Township’s trails?
Shiawassee River State Game Area and Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in James Township?
3.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near James Township?
18,211 acres of parks and open public land lie inside James Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,274 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does James Township have?
Ahead of 88% 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 James 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 →