Muskrat Lake State Game Area
Managed by Michigan DNR Wildlife Division
199 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Stony Creek Bridge · Photo: Jon Roanhaus · CC BY-SA 4.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Olive Township
Olive Township has 209 acres of parks, 83 for every 1,000 residents
5% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3% of Olive Township’s land is conserved, about 601 acres.
Ahead of 29% of U.S. towns · #590 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
601 acres · of 35.6 sq mi of land
Trails
0.0 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
209 ac
83 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
5%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
3
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Olive Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Olive Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Olive Township is ahead of 29% of U.S. towns, #590 of 701 in Michigan. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Olive Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4DPark land83 acres of park per 1,000 residents (209 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home5% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 29%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 16%
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Olive Township. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
601 conserved acres
3% of Olive Township’s land. Who manages Olive Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife209 ac
Other state land157 ac
Private owners148 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)85 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service2 ac
State Conservation Area · 209 acAgricultural Easement · 157 acPrivate Park · 148 acConservation Easement · 87 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 244 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muskrat Lake State Game Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 209 | Open |
| Highland Hills Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 148 | Restricted |
Things to do
1 places to go in Olive Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Olive Township
Muskrat Lake Boat LaunchIn Muskrat Lake State Game Area
DirectionsTrails & water
3 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Stony Creek BridgeStructure · listed 1999
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Olive Township: July and 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 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.7 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 44 | 57 | 69 | 79 | 83 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 47 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 2.6 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 3.9 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Olive Township →
Next door
Olive Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Victor Township17 miDeWitt Township14 miRiley Township1.4 miOlive Township0.0 miBingham Township0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olive Township | 3% | under 0.1 | 83 | 5% | C |
| Bingham Township | 4% | under 0.1 | 1 | 11% | D |
| DeWitt Township | 6% | 0.5 | 21 | 57% | B+ |
| Victor Township | 8% | 0.5 | 509 | 42% | A− |
| Riley Township | 3% | under 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Olive Township
How much of Olive Township is conserved land?
3% 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 Olive Township’s trails?
Muskrat Lake State Game Area doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Olive Township?
12,898 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Olive Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 209 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Olive Township have?
Ahead of 29% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #590 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 Olive 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 →