1
Shiawassee River State Game Area
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
3,283 acres10.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
Outdoors · James
James, MI parks, trails & bike paths
About 46% of James is conserved land, roughly 5,542 acres. There are about 22 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in Shiawassee River State Game Area (10.4 mi) and Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge (6.1 mi).
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in James, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
James outdoors
Conserved land
46%
5,542 of 12,156 acres
Trails
22 mi
1.1 mi per sq mi · 16 on conserved land
Parks & preserves
2
3,237 conserved acres per 1,000 residents
Bike routes
3.8 mi
0.0 mi lanes · 3.8 mi off-road paths
Conserved land is a share of the whole town area. Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number or a place below to zoom in© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Parks & preserves with trails
Ranked by mapped trail miles. Directions go to the nearest marked trailhead or public parking.
2
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)Marsh Loop (west)
No dogsMapped in OpenStreetMap
Things to do
Beaches, playgrounds, falls & more
Pick a kind of place for the list, directions, or pins on the map above.
Boat launches in James
Unnamed boat launch in Shiawassee River State Game Area
Trails
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
Water
Lakes & rivers
Tap a name for directions.
Who protects the land
5,542 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn't always mean open to visitors. 26 acres are conservation easements, which are usually private land. The places listed above are parks and preserves people visit.
Biking & sports
Bike routes, courts & fields
- Painted or protected bike lanes0.0 mi
- Off-road bike paths3.8 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes0.0 mi
Public lands
The biggest protected places in James
From USGS PAD-US: who manages each one and whether visitors are welcome.
National Wildlife Refuge 4,311 acState Conservation Area 3,271 acPrivate Other or Unknown 90 acConservation Easement 27 ac
| Place | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shiawassee National Wildlife RefugeNational Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 4,311 | Restricted |
| Shiawassee River State Game AreaState Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 3,271 | Open |
| Utility CorridorPrivate Other or Unknown | Private owners | 90 | Open |
Nearby
James and its neighbors
Towns whose outdoors data has been built so far.
| Town | Conserved | Trails | Parks & preserves |
|---|---|---|---|
| James | 45.6% | 21.8 mi | 2 |
| Spaulding | 43.5% | 14.9 mi | 2 |
| Saginaw | 6.9% | 8.6 mi | 20 |
| Saginaw | 8.9% | 10.5 mi | 14 |
| Swan Creek | 29.6% | 8.9 mi | 3 |
| Thomas | 5.3% | 6.1 mi | 3 |
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about James's trails yet. Muddy, icy, a bridge out, where to park: a quick post helps the next person.
Sources: trails, parks, preserves, courts and bike lanes © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), map data as of 2026-09-28. Conserved land: USGS Gap Analysis Project, Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US). Measured against the Census town boundary.
How we measure
"Trails" are OpenStreetMap paths, bridleways, public tracks and unpaved footways, plus footways inside a park or preserve or on a named trail route. Sidewalks are left out. Areas are counted on a 21.2-meter grid, so overlapping parcels count once. "Conserved" includes conservation easements, which protect land from development but are usually private property. Trailheads are the nearest marked trailhead, public parking lot or information board within about 150 meters of a preserve. Dog rules come from OpenStreetMap when someone has tagged them; otherwise we show what's typical for the land manager, or say the rules aren't recorded.