It is located in the southeastern part of Jyväskylä near Toivakka and between the major lakes Päijänne and Leppävesi.

[4] The area was initially owned by the men of Hauho as hunting grounds, which is reflected in nearby place names, as a fjard (part of a lake) of the Päijänne near Oravasaari is called Hauhonselkä,[2] while the names beginning with Ilmo- such as Ilmopohja may refer to the village of Ilmoila in Hauho.

The first settler in Oravasaari was a Tavastian man from Hauho named Erkki Erkinpoika, who came to the area in 1552 and established the farm of Oravasalo.

The separation of Oravasaari from Leppävesi began after the establishment of the Jyväskylä chapel community under the Laukaa parish around 1693, when four farms from Leppävesi were transferred to the Jyväskylä chapel community.

As a result of the Second World War, some 140 displaced Karelians, mostly from Sortavalan maalaiskunta (around Sortavala),[9] were resettled to Oravasaari.