Volunteer Park
Park
125 acres1.8 mi of trail
Volunteer Park Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Dwight Burdette · CC BY 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in South Lyon
South Lyon has 6.5 miles of mapped trails, 1.7 for every square mile of land
96% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Volunteer Park (1.8 mi), McHattie Park (0.5 mi). 7% of South Lyon’s land is conserved, about 166 acres.
Ahead of 89% of U.S. towns · #89 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
166 acres · of 3.7 sq mi of land
Trails
6.5 mi
1.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
226 ac
19 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
96%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.3 mi
5.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is South Lyon?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does South Lyon have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, South Lyon is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns, #89 of 701 in Michigan. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of South Lyon’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land19 acres of park per 1,000 residents (226 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13BParks close to home96% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 89%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 87%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Volunteer Park, with 1.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 5 parks & preserves
Volunteer Park125 acres · 1.8 mi of trail
DirectionsMcHattie Park16 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsColumbia Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsPaul F. Baker Memorial Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Andover Park18 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
166 conserved acres
7% of South Lyon’s land. Who manages South Lyon’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city71 ac
Other state land45 ac
Private owners27 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits24 ac
Conservation Easement · 45 acLocal Recreation Area · 42 acLocal Park · 35 acUnknown · 17 acLocal Other or Unknown · 16 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 47 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Lyon Trail Local Recreation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 21 | Open |
| Volunteer Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 21 | Open |
| Hidden Creek Unknown | Private owners | 17 | Open |
| Andover Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Trotters Point Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Mchattie Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Brookfield Subdivision Open Space Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 10 | Open |
| Columbia Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Huron Valley Trail State Recreation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 3 | Open |
| Paul Baker Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in South Lyon
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in South Lyon
6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.4 miUnpaved · 0.5 mi
Volunteer Park Trail1.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
5.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
15Tennis
9Baseball
7Pickleball
4Soccer
3Basketball
2Volleyball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in South Lyon: 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 | 70 | 79 | 83 | 80 | 74 | 61 | 47 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 3.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in South Lyon →
Next door
South Lyon and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Lyon | 7% | 1.7 | 19 | 96% | A |
| Lyon Township | 11% | 1.5 | 58 | 55% | A |
| Green Oak Township | 29% | 3.1 | 293 | 53% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in South Lyon
Where can I hike in South Lyon?
The longest trail networks: Volunteer Park, 1.8 miles; McHattie Park, 0.5 miles; Columbia Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of South Lyon is conserved land?
7% 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 South Lyon’s trails?
Volunteer Park and McHattie Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in South Lyon?
5.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near South Lyon?
28,250 acres of parks and open public land lie inside South Lyon or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 243 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does South Lyon have?
Ahead of 89% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #89 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 South Lyon 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 →