Gale Road Grand River State Game Area
Nature preserve
140 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Onondaga Township
Onondaga Township has 408 acres of parks, 136 for every 1,000 residents
14% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2.2 miles of mapped trail cross Onondaga Township, 0.1 per square mile of land. 5% of Onondaga Township’s land is conserved, about 1,039 acres.
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns · #487 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
1,039 acres · of 36.1 sq mi of land
Trails
2.2 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
408 ac
136 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
14%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Onondaga Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Onondaga Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Onondaga Township is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns, #487 of 701 in Michigan. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Onondaga Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land136 acres of park per 1,000 residents (408 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13AParks close to home14% 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 44%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 31%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. 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
1,039 conserved acres
5% of Onondaga Township’s land. Who manages Onondaga Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land404 ac
Town or city243 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)216 ac
Joint154 ac
State fish & wildlife131 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service117 ac
Agricultural Easement · 559 acLocal Recreation Area · 219 acConservation Easement · 178 acUnknown Easement · 154 acState Conservation Area · 131 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 675 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boat Launch Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 219 | Open |
| Grand River Gale Road State Game Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 131 | Open |
| Baldwin Park Local Park | Town or city | 24 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Onondaga Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Dog parks in Onondaga Township
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Onondaga Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
4Baseball
2Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Onondaga Township: July 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 | 69 | 79 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 61 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.3 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 2.6 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.9 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Onondaga Township →
Next door
Onondaga Township and its neighbors
Onondaga Township has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Aurelius Township7.4 miOnondaga Township2.2 miLeslie Township2.0 miHamlin Township1.3 miTompkins Township0.5 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Onondaga Township | 5% | 0.1 | 136 | 14% | C+ |
| Hamlin Township | 2% | under 0.1 | 9 | 11% | C− |
| Leslie Township | 4% | 0.1 | 22 | 13% | C |
| Aurelius Township | 13% | 0.2 | 113 | 13% | B |
| Tompkins Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 12 | 8% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Onondaga Township
Where can I hike in Onondaga Township?
The longest trail networks: Baldwin Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Onondaga Township is conserved land?
5% 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 Onondaga Township’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Essential-Workers COVID19 Memorial Park. For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Onondaga Township?
7,745 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Onondaga Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 408 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Onondaga Township have?
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #487 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 Onondaga 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 →