Deford State Game Area
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
861 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Novesta Township
Novesta Township has 1,585 acres of parks, 1,267 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Deford State Game Area (0.8 mi). 8% of Novesta Township’s land is conserved, about 1,808 acres. 29% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 69% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
1,808 acres · of 35.3 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,585 ac
1,267 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
29%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Novesta Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Novesta Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Novesta Township is ahead of 69% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Novesta Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land1,267 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,585 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home29% 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 69%
LessMore
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
The longest trail network is Deford State Game Area, with 0.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Cass City State Game Area
Nature preserve
552 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
1,808 conserved acres
8% of Novesta Township’s land. Who manages Novesta Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife1,495 ac
County234 ac
Private owners40 ac
Town or city39 ac
State Conservation Area · 1,495 acLocal Other or Unknown · 234 acPrivate Park · 40 acLocal Park · 39 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deford State Game Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 940 | Open |
| Cass City State Game Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 555 | Open |
| Gravel Pit Local Other or Unknown | County | 234 | Closed |
| Cass City Gun Club Private Park | Private owners | 40 | Open |
| City of Cass Park Local Park | Town or city | 39 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Novesta Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Novesta Township
1 beach 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 · 11.3 mi
Cass City Walking Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Novesta 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 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 32 | 42 | 55 | 68 | 78 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 59 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 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 Novesta Township →
Next door
Novesta Township and its neighbors
Novesta Township has the most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Novesta Township12 miEvergreen Township8.5 miKingston Township7.2 miElkland Township3.9 miEllington Township3.1 miCass City1.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Novesta Township | 8% | 0.3 | 1,267 | 29% | B+ |
| Elkland Township | 6% | 0.1 | 315 | 78% | B+ |
| Evergreen Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Kingston Township | 8% | 0.2 | 1,020 | 25% | B |
| Ellington Township | 24% | 0.1 | 4,786 | 57% | A− |
| 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 Novesta Township
Where can I hike in Novesta Township?
The longest trail networks: Deford State Game Area, 0.8 miles; Cass City State Game Area, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Novesta Township 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 Novesta Township’s trails?
Deford 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 Novesta Township?
22,741 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Novesta Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,585 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Novesta Township have?
Ahead of 69% 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 Novesta 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 →