Yankee Springs Recreation Area
Nature preserve
4,541 acres35.1 mi of trail
North Country TrailPines Scenic TrailChief Noonday TrailMcDonald Lake Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Yankee Springs Township
More than half of Yankee Springs Township’s land is conserved: 64%
64% of Yankee Springs Township’s land is conserved, about 12,790 acres. 12,590 acres are parks and preserves, 2,329 per 1,000 residents. 60 miles of mapped trail cross Yankee Springs Township, 1.9 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns · #15 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
64%
12,790 acres · of 31.1 sq mi of land
Trails
60 mi
1.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
12,590 ac
2,329 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
56%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
17 mi
17 mi paths
Highest peak
919 ft
Graves Hill
Lakes & rivers
18
3 beaches · 10 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Yankee Springs Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Yankee Springs Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Yankee Springs Township is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #15 of 701 in Michigan. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Yankee Springs Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land64% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (60 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land2,329 acres of park per 1,000 residents (12,590 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home56% 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 96%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 98%
Water is 13% of Yankee Springs Township’s area (5 of 36 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 56%.
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 Yankee Springs Recreation Area, with 35.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Barry State Game Area
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
8,030 acres19.2 mi of trail
North Country TrailShooting Range Access
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Long Lake Outdoor Center
Park
96 acres1.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Payne Lake Public Access
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
61 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Yankee Springs Recreation Area4,541 acres · 35.1 mi of trail
DirectionsBarry State Game Area8,030 acres · 19.2 mi of trail · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
DirectionsLong Lake Outdoor Center96 acres · 1.6 mi of trail
Yankee Springs Township Park10 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Yankee Springs Township
DirectionsPayne Lake Public Access61 acres · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Who protects it
12,790 conserved acres
64% of Yankee Springs Township’s land. Water is left out: Yankee Springs Township has 31.1 square miles of land and 4.8 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Yankee Springs Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife7,889 ac
State parks4,613 ac
Private owners239 ac
State natural resources40 ac
Other state land11 ac
State Conservation Area · 7,929 acState Recreation Area · 4,613 acPrivate Park · 239 acConservation Easement · 11 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barry State Game Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 7,902 | Open |
| Yankee Springs Recreation Area State Recreation Area | State parks | 4,613 | Open |
| Yankee Springs Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 239 | Restricted |
| Natural Area Bowerman-Barry Prairie & Turner Creek State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 27 | Open |
Things to do
20 places to go in Yankee Springs Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Yankee Springs Township
3 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Yankee Springs Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Yankee Springs Township
Bassett Lake Boat LaunchIn Barry State Game Area
DirectionsDeep Lake Boat LaunchIn Yankee Springs Recreation Area
DirectionsHall Lake Boat LaunchIn Yankee Springs Recreation Area
DirectionsLong Lake Boat Launch
DirectionsMcDonald Lake Canoe LaunchIn Yankee Springs Recreation Area
DirectionsPayne Lake Boat Launch
DirectionsPlus 4 boat launches without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Yankee Springs Township
Devil’s Soup Bowl overlookIn Yankee Springs Recreation Area
DirectionsGraves Hill OverlookIn Yankee Springs Recreation Area
DirectionsPeaks in Yankee Springs Township
Graves Hill919 ft elevation · In Yankee Springs Recreation Area
DirectionsCampgrounds in Yankee Springs Township
Yankee Springs Deep Lake-RusticIn Yankee Springs Recreation Area
DirectionsYankee Springs State ParkIn Yankee Springs Recreation Area
DirectionsTrails & water
8 named trails and 18 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 1.9 miUnpaved · 16.6 mi
North Country Trail10.0 mi
Pines Scenic Trail0.9 mi
Chief Noonday Trail0.6 mi
McDonald Lake Trail0.6 mi
Shooting Range Access0.5 mi
Graves Hill Trail0.5 mi
Hall Lake Loop0.3 mi
Graves Hill Overlook0.1 mi
Biking & sports
17 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
17 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
8Pickleball
2Basketball
1Baseball
1Tennis
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Yankee Springs Township: June 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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 45 | 58 | 70 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 61 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 2.9 | 2.5 |
February is the driest month (2.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.2 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Yankee Springs Township →
Next door
Yankee Springs Township and its neighbors
Yankee Springs Township has the most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Yankee Springs Township60 miThornapple Township14 miRutland Township12 miOrangeville Township9.4 miHope Township3.7 miWayland Township2.6 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yankee Springs Township | 64% | 1.9 | 2,329 | 56% | A+ |
| Orangeville Township | 16% | 0.3 | 877 | 34% | B+ |
| Rutland Township | 26% | 0.3 | 1,181 | 25% | A− |
| Thornapple Township | 3% | 0.4 | 67 | 51% | B |
| Wayland Township | 3% | 0.1 | 60 | 13% | C+ |
| Hope Township | 7% | 0.1 | 477 | 19% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Yankee Springs Township
Where can I hike in Yankee Springs Township?
The longest trail networks: Yankee Springs Recreation Area, 35.1 miles; Barry State Game Area, 19.2 miles; Long Lake Outdoor Center, 1.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Yankee Springs Township is conserved land?
64% 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 Yankee Springs Township’s trails?
Yankee Springs Recreation Area and Barry State Game Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Yankee Springs Township?
17 miles of bike routes are on the map: 17 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Yankee Springs Township?
30,096 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Yankee Springs Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 12,590 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Yankee Springs Township have?
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #15 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 Yankee Springs 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 →