Otto Nature Preserve
Managed by Oceana Conservation District
81 acres1.5 mi of trail
Beech-Maple TrailOak Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Benona Township
Benona Township has 1,066 acres of parks, 683 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Otto Nature Preserve (1.5 mi), Silver Lake State Park (1.1 mi). 6% of Benona Township’s land is conserved, about 1,558 acres. 21 miles of mapped trail cross Benona Township, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
1,558 acres · of 40.6 sq mi of land
Trails
21 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,066 ac
683 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
31%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.1 mi
0.1 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
5
4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Benona Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Benona Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Benona Township is ahead of 71% 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 Benona Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (21 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land683 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,066 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home31% 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 71%
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 Otto Nature Preserve, with 1.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Silver Lake State Park
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
385 acres1.1 mi of trail
South Stone Church
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Stony Creek Nature Preserve
Managed by Oceana Conservation District
37 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Benona Township Oval Park
Park
4 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 7 parks & preserves
Otto Nature Preserve81 acres · 1.5 mi of trail · Oceana Conservation District
Silver Lake State Park385 acres · 1.1 mi of trail · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Benona Township Oval Park4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsStony Creek Nature Preserve37 acres · Oceana Conservation District
Marshville Dam County Park4 acres · Oceana County
Benona Township Park3 acres
DirectionsWest Michigan Underwater Preserve2 acres
Who protects it
1,558 conserved acres
6% of Benona Township’s land. Who manages Benona Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land488 ac
Town or city481 ac
State parks368 ac
Private owners107 ac
State natural resources59 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits54 ac
Agricultural Easement · 488 acState Park · 385 acLocal Recreation Area · 295 acLocal Conservation Area · 180 acPrivate Park · 107 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 488 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silver Lake State Park State Park | State parks | 385 | Open |
| Camp Miniwanca Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 295 | Open |
| Memorial Nature Preserve Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 141 | Open |
| Benona Shores Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 107 | Restricted |
| Genevieve Casey Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 54 | Open |
| Hart-Montague Bicycle Trail Park State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 43 | Open |
| Woods and Dunes Nature Preserve Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 39 | Open |
| Benona Township Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Marshville Dam Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Knoll Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
14 places to go in Benona Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Swimming spots in Benona Township
Miniwanca Lily Pad
DirectionsPlus 1 swimming spot without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Benona Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Benona Township
4 boat launches without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Benona Township
Sandy McGrath Outlook
DirectionsPeaks in Benona Township
Campgrounds in Benona Township
Camp Miniwanca
DirectionsTent Sites
DirectionsTrails & water
4 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 8.6 mi
S1.1 mi
Beech-Maple Trail0.9 mi
South Stone Church0.7 mi
Oak Trail0.7 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
3Tennis
1Baseball
1Basketball
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Benona 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 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 32 | 42 | 54 | 66 | 75 | 79 | 78 | 71 | 58 | 45 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 3.0 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 3.9 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Benona Township →
Next door
Benona Township and its neighbors
Benona Township has the most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Benona Township21 miGolden Township15 miShelby Township15 miHart Township6.2 miClaybanks Township1.8 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benona Township | 6% | 0.5 | 683 | 31% | B+ |
| Shelby Township | 9% | 0.4 | 350 | 72% | A− |
| Golden Township | 20% | 0.5 | 2,562 | 70% | A |
| Claybanks Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Hart 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 Benona Township
Where can I hike in Benona Township?
The longest trail networks: Otto Nature Preserve, 1.5 miles; Silver Lake State Park, 1.1 miles; Benona Township Oval Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Benona Township is conserved land?
6% 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 Benona Township’s trails?
Otto Nature Preserve and Silver Lake State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Benona Township?
0.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Benona Township?
19,907 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Benona Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,066 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Benona Township have?
Ahead of 71% 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 Benona 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 →