Murphy Lake State Game Area
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
1,973 acres13.1 mi of trail
Murphy Lake TrailSteep Fork
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Watertown Township
Watertown Township has 2,062 acres of parks, 895 for every 1,000 residents
11% of Watertown Township’s land is conserved, about 2,280 acres. The biggest trail networks: Murphy Lake State Game Area (13.1 mi). 14 miles of mapped trail cross Watertown Township, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 77% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
11%
2,280 acres · of 32.6 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,062 ac
895 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
39%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Watertown Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Watertown Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Watertown Township is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns. 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 Watertown Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% 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 land895 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,062 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 77%
LessMore
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 Murphy Lake State Game Area, with 13.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Watertown Township Park
Managed by Watertown Township
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Murphy Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
2,280 conserved acres
11% of Watertown Township’s land. Who manages Watertown Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife1,956 ac
Private owners146 ac
County94 ac
Town or city89 ac
State Conservation Area · 1,956 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 146 acLocal Other or Unknown · 94 acLocal Park · 89 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Murphy Lake State Game Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 1,956 | Open |
| Utility Corridor Private Other or Unknown | Private owners | 146 | Open |
| Gravel Pit Local Other or Unknown | County | 94 | Closed |
| Township of Watertown Park Local Park | Town or city | 89 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Watertown Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Watertown Township
2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 3.7 mi
Murphy Lake Trail6.5 mi
Steep Fork0.4 mi
Swamp Bypass0.1 mi
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
1Basketball
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Watertown Township: June, August 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) | 29 | 32 | 42 | 56 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 2.0 |
February is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.7 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Watertown Township →
Next door
Watertown Township and its neighbors
Watertown Township has the most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Watertown Township14 miMillington Township11 miMarathon Township4.9 miRich Township2.4 miFremont Township1.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watertown Township | 11% | 0.4 | 895 | 39% | A− |
| Millington Township | 5% | 0.3 | 210 | 17% | B |
| Rich Township | 2% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Marathon Township | 10% | 0.1 | 470 | 53% | B+ |
| Fremont Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 28 | 34% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Watertown Township
Where can I hike in Watertown Township?
The longest trail networks: Murphy Lake State Game Area, 13.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Watertown Township is conserved land?
11% 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 Watertown Township’s trails?
Murphy Lake State Game Area and Watertown Township Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Watertown Township?
30,185 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Watertown Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,062 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Watertown Township have?
Ahead of 77% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Watertown 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 →