Shiawassee River State Game Area
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
2,696 acres5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in St. Charles Township
St. Charles Township has 2,700 acres of parks, 862 for every 1,000 residents
12% of St. Charles Township’s land is conserved, about 2,918 acres. The biggest trail networks: Shiawassee River State Game Area (5 mi), Coal Miners' Park (1 mi). 45% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns · #210 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
2,918 acres · of 36.5 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,700 ac
862 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
45%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.6 mi
0.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is St. Charles Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does St. Charles Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, St. Charles Township is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #210 of 701 in Michigan. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of St. Charles Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land862 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,700 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home45% 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 78%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 70%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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 Shiawassee River State Game Area, with 5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Coal Miners' Park
Managed by Village of St. Charles
37 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Waterfowl Park
Managed by Village of St. Charles
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Lumberjack Park
Managed by Village of St. Charles
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
2,918 conserved acres
12% of St. Charles Township’s land. Who manages St. Charles Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife2,646 ac
Private owners239 ac
Town or city33 ac
State Conservation Area · 2,646 acPrivate Park · 158 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 81 acLocal Recreation Area · 33 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shiawassee River State Game Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 2,646 | Open |
| Kimberly Oaks Golf Club Private Park | Private owners | 158 | Restricted |
| Utility Corridor Private Other or Unknown | Private owners | 81 | Open |
| St. Charles Area Family Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 33 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in St. Charles Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in St. Charles Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in St. Charles Township
DNR Field Office Boat Launch
DirectionsPlus 2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
5Baseball
2Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in St. Charles 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 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 33 | 44 | 57 | 70 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 61 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 2.0 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 1.9 |
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 St. Charles Township →
Next door
St. Charles Township and its neighbors
St. Charles Township has the most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
St. Charles Township14 miAlbee Township12 miSwan Creek Township8.9 miBrant Township3.1 miChesaning Township1.6 miSt. Charles1.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Charles Township | 12% | 0.4 | 862 | 45% | A− |
| Brant Township | 6% | 0.1 | 628 | 30% | B |
| Swan Creek Township | 31% | 0.4 | 1,814 | 32% | A− |
| Albee Township | 1% | 0.3 | 44 | 6% | C+ |
| St. Charles | 3% | 0.5 | 23 | 77% | B |
| Chesaning Township | 2% | under 0.1 | 26 | 52% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in St. Charles Township
Where can I hike in St. Charles Township?
The longest trail networks: Shiawassee River State Game Area, 5 miles; Coal Miners' Park, 1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of St. Charles Township is conserved land?
12% 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 St. Charles Township’s trails?
Shiawassee River State Game Area and Coal Miners' Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in St. Charles Township?
0.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near St. Charles Township?
17,863 acres of parks and open public land lie inside St. Charles Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,700 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does St. Charles Township have?
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #210 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 St. Charles 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 →