Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
1,373 acres7.4 mi of trail
Emerson TrailGreggs TrailSpencer TrailOlesky Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Mills Township
Mills Township has 2,481 acres of parks, 622 for every 1,000 residents
16% of Mills Township’s land is conserved, about 3,510 acres. 33 miles of mapped trail cross Mills Township, 1.0 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit (7.4 mi).
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns · #110 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
16%
3,510 acres · of 34.2 sq mi of land
Trails
33 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,481 ac
622 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
44%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
23
2 beaches · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Mills Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Mills Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Mills Township is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns, #110 of 701 in Michigan. 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 Mills Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land16% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (33 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land622 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,481 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home44% 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 87%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 84%
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 Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit, with 7.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Elbow Lake Township Park
Managed by Mills Township
31 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Newman Park
Managed by Mills Township
20 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Skidway Lake Township Park
Managed by Mills Township
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
3,510 conserved acres
16% of Mills Township’s land. Who manages Mills Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners2,410 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1,043 ac
Town or city57 ac
Private Park · 1,255 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 1,155 acConservation Easement · 1,043 acLocal Park · 57 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,043 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mansfield Club Private Park | Private owners | 1,255 | Open |
| Detroit Boy Scouts of America Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 1,081 | Open |
| Ogemaw Pines Campground Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 74 | Open |
| Elbow Lake Park Local Park | Town or city | 34 | Open |
| Newman Park Local Park | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Pipeline Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
Things to do
9 places to go in Mills Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Mills Township
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Mills Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Mills Township
Elbow Lake Boat Launch
DirectionsPlus 1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Mills Township
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Mills Township
Cole Canoe BaseBoy Scouts Michigan Crossroads Council
DirectionsOgemaw Pines Resort and Campground
DirectionsTrails & water
15 named trails and 23 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Blue Trail2.5 mi
Green Trail1.8 mi
Emerson Trail1.1 mi
Red Trail1.0 mi
Watersedge Trail0.7 mi
Yellow Trail0.6 mi
Greggs Trail0.6 mi
Oleskie Trail0.5 mi
Brown Trail0.5 mi
Olesky Trail0.4 mi
5 more trails
Warren K. Wells Nature Trail
0.4 miSpencer Trail
0.3 miJeffrey Trail
0.2 miWhite Pine Path
0.2 miRed Oak Court
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Bass LakelakeBirch LakelakeBlack LakelakeBosco LakeBoughner LakelakeBovee LakelakeBush LakelakeCabin LakelakeChandlers LakelakeElbow LakelakeFeeding Ground LakelakeGrass LakelakeIndian LakelakeLake OgemawreservoirLittle Feeding Ground LakelakeLong LakelakeLost LakelakeMills LakelakeNorway LakelakeSilver LakelakeSkidway LakelakeTurtle LakelakeRifle River
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
4Baseball
4Basketball
3Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Mills Township: 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 31 | 42 | 55 | 68 | 77 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 59 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 1.8 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 1.9 |
February is the driest month (1.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 3.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Mills Township →
Next door
Mills Township and its neighbors
Mills Township has the most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Mills Township33 miHorton Township28 miChurchill Township6.8 miSkidway Lake5.6 miRichland Township3.3 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mills Township | 16% | 1.0 | 622 | 44% | A |
| Richland Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Churchill Township | under 1% | 0.2 | 30 | 44% | C+ |
| Skidway Lake | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Horton Township | — 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 Mills Township
Where can I hike in Mills Township?
The longest trail networks: Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit, 7.4 miles; Elbow Lake Township Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Mills Township is conserved land?
16% 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 Mills Township’s trails?
Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit and Elbow Lake Township Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Mills Township?
14,946 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Mills Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,481 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Mills Township have?
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #110 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 Mills 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 →