Flat River State Game Area
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
1,535 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Orleans Township
Orleans Township has 1,466 acres of parks, 542 for every 1,000 residents
6% of Orleans Township’s land is conserved, about 1,463 acres. 1.8 miles of mapped trail cross Orleans Township, 0.1 per square mile of land. 39% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns · #402 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
1,463 acres · of 35.2 sq mi of land
Trails
1.8 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,466 ac
542 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
39%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
3
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Orleans Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Orleans Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Orleans Township is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns, #402 of 701 in Michigan. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Orleans Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% 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. 0.4C−Park land542 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,466 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A+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 56%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 43%
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
The longest trail network is Flat River State Game Area, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Long Lake Public Access
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
1,463 conserved acres
6% of Orleans Township’s land. Who manages Orleans Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife1,463 ac
State Conservation Area · 1,463 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flat River State Game Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 1,463 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Orleans Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Orleans Township
Long Lake Boat Launch
DirectionsTrails & water
3 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Orleans 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) | 9.3 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 44 | 57 | 69 | 79 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 2.8 | 2.2 |
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 Orleans Township →
Next door
Orleans Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Fairplain Township10 miOtisco Township2.4 miEaston Township2.0 miOrleans Township1.8 miRonald Township0.6 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orleans Township | 6% | 0.1 | 542 | 39% | B |
| Otisco Township | 5% | 0.1 | 449 | 17% | B− |
| Easton Township | 1% | 0.1 | 67 | 34% | C+ |
| Fairplain Township | 22% | 0.3 | 2,564 | 25% | A− |
| Ronald Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 1 | 2% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Orleans Township
Where can I hike in Orleans Township?
The longest trail networks: Flat River State Game Area, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Orleans 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 Orleans Township’s trails?
Flat River State Game Area and Long Lake Public Access don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Orleans Township?
22,544 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Orleans Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,466 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Orleans Township have?
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #402 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 Orleans 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 →