Vernon and Velma Radebaugh Memorial Plant Preserve
Managed by Michigan Nature Association
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
COutdoors
Outdoors in Ontwa Township
Ontwa Township has 85 acres of parks, 12 for every 1,000 residents
1.6 miles of mapped trail cross Ontwa Township, 0.1 per square mile of land. 39% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2% of Ontwa Township’s land is conserved, about 314 acres.
Ahead of 32% of U.S. towns · #574 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
314 acres · of 19.4 sq mi of land
Trails
1.6 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
85 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
39%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.6 mi
1.1 mi lanes · 0.5 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
5
1 beach
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ontwa Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ontwa Township is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns, #574 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 Ontwa Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4CPark land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (85 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home39% 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 32%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 18%
Water is 7% of Ontwa Township’s area (2 of 21 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 2%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C 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.
Mueler Park
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Gunn Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Kraus Memorial Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
314 conserved acres
2% of Ontwa Township’s land. Water is left out: Ontwa Township has 19.4 square miles of land and 1.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Ontwa Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners160 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits76 ac
Town or city55 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government23 ac
Private Park · 160 acPrivate Conservation · 74 acLocal Recreation Area · 63 acLocal Conservation Area · 12 acLocal Park · 3 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Four Lakes Country Club Private Park | Private owners | 119 | Restricted |
| Christiana Lake Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 74 | Restricted |
| Garver Lake Golf Course Private Park | Private owners | 41 | Restricted |
| Island Park Campground Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 40 | Open |
| Edwarsburg Athletic Field Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 23 | Open |
| Old Mill Natural Area Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Gunn Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Vernon And Velma Radebaugh Memorial State Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 3 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Ontwa Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Ontwa Township
Pleasant Lake East Beach
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Ontwa Township
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
5 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
11Baseball
8Tennis
7Soccer
3Football
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Ontwa Township: April, 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) | 9.5 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 35 | 46 | 59 | 71 | 80 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 62 | 48 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 2.5 |
February is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Ontwa Township →
Next door
Ontwa Township and its neighbors
Ontwa Township has the second most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ontwa Township | 2% | 0.1 | 12 | 39% | C |
| Jefferson Township | 1% | under 0.1 | under 1 | 5% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Ontwa Township
How much of Ontwa Township is conserved land?
2% 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 Ontwa Township’s trails?
Vernon and Velma Radebaugh Memorial Plant Preserve and Mueler Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Ontwa Township?
1.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.1 of painted or protected lanes and 0.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Ontwa Township?
4,637 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ontwa Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 85 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ontwa Township have?
Ahead of 32% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #574 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 Ontwa 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 →