1
Beaver Islands State Wildlife Research Area
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
11,186 acres16 mi of trail
Corn Stalk
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Outdoors · St. James
St. James, MI parks, trails & bike paths
About 5.3% of St. James is conserved land, roughly 10,661 acres. There are about 22 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in Beaver Islands State Wildlife Research Area (16 mi).
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in St. James, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
St. James outdoors
Conserved land
5.3%
10,661 of 200,879 acres
Trails
22 mi
0.1 mi per sq mi · 17 on conserved land
Parks & preserves
7
named on the map
Bike routes
0.8 mi
0.0 mi lanes · 0.8 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
Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
282 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Website
3
George and Althea Petritz Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
28 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
4
Stanhope Family Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
13 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Things to do
Beaches, playgrounds, falls & more
Pick a kind of place for the list, directions, or pins on the map above.
Campgrounds in St. James
St. James Township Campground
Stable CampgroundThe Port of St. James Association
Trails
Named trails
Unpaved 14.5 mi
- Corn Stalk3.8 mi
- Hidden Valley Trail0.7 mi
- Font Lake Trail0.5 mi
- Coggins Trail0.3 mi
- Little Font Lake Trail0.3 mi
- White Birch Trail0.2 mi
- Bella's Roost Trail0.2 mi
- Katherine's Climb Trail0.1 mi
Water
Lakes & rivers
Tap a name for directions.
Who protects the land
10,661 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn't always mean open to visitors. Public access isn't recorded for 2 of 9 parcels. 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 paths0.8 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes0.0 mi
Courts & fields
- Tennis2
- Beach volleyball1
- Baseball1
Counts include school and college facilities, which aren't always open to the public.
Public lands
The biggest protected places in St. James
From USGS PAD-US: who manages each one and whether visitors are welcome.
State Conservation Area 10,298 acNational Wildlife Refuge 518 acLocal Park 43 acPrivate Conservation 31 acLocal Conservation Area 30 ac
| Place | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beaver Islands State Wildlife Research AreaState Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 4,486 | Open |
| Natural Area High IslandState Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 3,555 | Open |
| Natural Area Hog IslandState Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 2,257 | Open |
| Michigan Islands National Wildlife RefugeNational Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 518 | Restricted |
| St. James Township ParkLocal Park | Town or city | 43 | Open |
| George & Althea PetritzPrivate Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 31 | Access unknown |
| Gull Harbor PreserveLocal Conservation Area | Town or city | 30 | Open |
History
Historic places to visit
Beaver Island Harbor LighthouseHistoric site
Squaw Island LighthouseHistoric site
Indian CemeteryCemetery
Saint James Township CemeteryCemetery
Nearby
St. James and its neighbors
Towns whose outdoors data has been built so far.
| Town | Conserved | Trails | Parks & preserves |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. James | 5.3% | 22.2 mi | 7 |
| Peaine | 28.5% | 28.7 mi | 9 |
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about St. 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 72.9-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.