First pick
Arena Park
Park or garden
3.0 ha0.3 km of path
Centralin the middle of Bowden
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Glenlarson~commonswiki · Public domain–Not graded
Outdoors in Bowden · parks, protected land & trails
No protected area lies within 10 km of Bowden
National parks are all over 100 km off. For a provincial park, Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park lies 68 km off.
Protected land
0%
of the land within 10 km
Typical Canadian town: 2.3%
Protected areas
0
within 10 km, 0 public
Typical Canadian town: 14
Nearest provincial park
68 km
Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park
Against other towns
How Bowden compares with other Canadian towns
Each figure against the 2,611 Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ (not city hubs or reserves), with the town marked and the typical one’s line. Outdoors isn’t graded in Canada. The page compares each figure with other towns and leaves it there.
Protected within 10 km0%Share of the land and water within 10 km of the town’s edge in a protected or conserved area
Protected in town0%Share of the town’s own area in a protected or conserved area
Public protected areas0Areas within 10 km held by a government or an Indigenous nation
Walking routes0Named OpenStreetMap walking and hiking routes with 300 m+ within 2 km
CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC, 2026), OpenStreetMap (November 2026). Distances from the town’s outline.
Towns its size
Among 40 towns its size, Bowden is 3rd from the bottom for protected land
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (1,315 to 2,587 residents), by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected. Hover for each one’s figures; click for its page.
Protected within 10 km
Bowden0%
Towns its size1.4%
Towns in Alberta0.4%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public protected areas
Bowden0
Towns its size3
Towns in Alberta2
Typical Canadian town4
Walking routes
Bowden0
Towns its size0
Towns in Alberta0
Typical Canadian town0
For public protected areas, Bowden lags towns its size: 33 of 39 are ahead.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anmore BC | 22% | 47% | 16 | 5 | 98 |
| 2 | Saint-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska QC | 19% | 0% | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Gracefield QC | 19% | 19% | 34 | 0 | 6 |
| 4 | East Preston NS | 16% | 6.3% | 20 | 1 | 5 |
| 5 | Clearwater BC | 7.7% | 4.1% | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | Roberval QC | 6.1% | 1.2% | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague QC | 5.8% | 0% | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | North Frontenac ON | 5.7% | 5.2% | 13 | 6 | 4 |
| 9 | Cap-Chat QC | 5.3% | 0.4% | 13 | 0 | 10 |
| 10 | Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards ON | 4.4% | 1.5% | 9 | 0 | 4 |
| 11 | Saint-Polycarpe QC | 4.2% | 0% | 11 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | Macassa ON | 4.1% | 0% | 18 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | Saint-Damien QC | 4% | 3.2% | 22 | 1 | 9 |
| 14 | Unity SK | 3.4% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Sherwood ON | 3.4% | 0% | 19 | 2 | 0 |
| 16 | McNab SK | 2.6% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | Mandeville QC | 2.5% | 1.8% | 19 | 4 | 7 |
| 18 | Esterhazy SK | 1.8% | 0% | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | City Commercial Core ON | 1.8% | 0% | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Caswell Hill SK | 1.4% | 0% | 16 | 0 | 3 |
| 21 | Fossambault-sur-le-Lac QC | 1.3% | 7.8% | 15 | 0 | 14 |
| 22 | Pembina MB | 1.1% | 1.8% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Burrows-Keewatin MB | 1% | 0% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Elmwood AB | 0.8% | 0% | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 25 | Hatley QC | 0.7% | 0% | 9 | 0 | 5 |
| 26 | Munroe West MB | 0.4% | 0% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Brooke-Alvinston ON | 0.3% | 0.2% | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Rosedale AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 29 | Minchau AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 30 | Lunenburg NS | 0.1% | 0% | 19 | 0 | 5 |
| 31 | Salisbury NB | 0.1% | 2.1% | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Dufferin MB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Ekota AB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 34 | Satoo AB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 35 | Saint-Éphrem-de-Beauce QC | 0% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 36 | Magrath AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Nanton AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Bowden AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Rimbey AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Sexsmith AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The map
Bowden on the map: green space, protected land and paths
The town’s parks, woods, protected land and paths, with its named places numbered.
Green: OpenStreetMap parks, gardens, playing fields and woods. Hatched: CPCAD protected areas.© OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL); CPCAD (OGL-Canada)
Places to walk
2 named parks and woods to walk in near Bowden
Largest first: Arena Park leads with 3.0 ha. Numbers match the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap parks, gardens, commons and woods with a name, in the town or within 400 m, © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Sizes are the mapped outline’s.
Close to home
In Bowden, a park is close to every home
Residents of each 2021 dissemination area, at a point inside it, within 400 m (about a 5-minute walk) of a park or playing field mapped on OpenStreetMap.
Within 400 m (100%)Further (0%)
Bowden100%
Towns in Alberta100%
Typical Canadian town83%
For comparison, the median Canadian town has 83%.
Protected areas
There is no protected land within 10 km of Bowden
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park, 68 km away, is the closest provincial park.
Source: Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD) 2.9.0, Environment and Climate Change Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada.
National & provincial parks
68 km to Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park
National parks (Parks Canada) and provincial or territorial parks by direction and distance from the town’s edge: every one within 10 km, and the nearest of each within 100 km.
National parkProvincial park
Provincial park
Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park
68 km east16 km²since 1970
No national park lies within 100 km of Bowden; the provincial parks are the big protected land within reach.
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
Footpaths and woods
2 km of paths in and around Bowden
OpenStreetMap footpaths, paths, bridleways and steps, and tracks open on foot, in the town and 1 km around it; woods as mapped (landuse=forest, natural=wood).
Footpaths
2.0 km
in and around the town (15.1 km²)
Woodland
0.5%
about 0.1 km² of mapped woods
Footpaths · km per km²
BowdenTowns in AlbertaTypical Canadian town
Footpaths0.1
024 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
BowdenTowns in AlbertaTypical Canadian town
Woodland0.5%
0%50%100%
86% of Canadian towns are more wooded. Paths are thinner on the ground than in 82% of Canadian towns.
Source: OpenStreetMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Mapping varies by place: a dense figure can mean keen local mappers as much as many paths.
Walking routes
OpenStreetMap shows no walking route near Bowden
Named walking and hiking routes on OpenStreetMap with at least 300 m within 2 km of the town, longest first; national routes lead.
OpenStreetMap has no named walking route within 2 km of the town. Trails may exist without being mapped as routes.
Source: OpenStreetMap (route relations hiking, foot and walking), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Trans Canada Trail sections as OSM maps them.
When to get out
Walking season in Bowden: May and September
Daylight at the town’s latitude and ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals (Red Deer, 30 km away). Good months: long days, highs of 15–30 °C, light rain.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 8.2 | 9.9 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 15.6 | 16.7 | 16.3 | 14.6 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.7 | 7.8 |
| High (°C) | -6 | -4 | 1 | 10 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 22 | 18 | 10 | 1 | -4 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 16 | 12 | 19 | 28 | 58 | 98 | 90 | 70 | 38 | 22 | 17 | 14 |
A typical year sees 138 cm of snow. In July the typical high is 23 °C; in January, -6 °C. The wettest month, June, brings 98 mm, against 12 mm in February. The climate in Bowden →
Things to do
Outdoors around Bowden: 8 places to go
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
There are 8 playgrounds, more than of anything else.
Every named place, with directions
Playgrounds 8
Plus 8 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Next door
Next to Bowden
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page.
InnisfailOldsBowden
Under 1%1–5%5–15%15–40%40%+
Bowden is not outdone two to one on protected land by any neighbour.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Private land. Land owned by individuals, companies or conservation groups counts toward the figures but is never named: a person’s land isn’t a place to visit.
- Protected land. The share is of the land and water within 10 km of the town’s outline, from CPCAD’s mapped areas; marine areas count, so a coastal town can score high on water.
- Walking routes. A route counts when 300 m or more of it lies within 2 km of the town. Coverage of trails on OpenStreetMap varies by region.
- National and provincial parks. National parks are Parks Canada’s; provincial parks are the province’s or territory’s, Québec’s parcs nationaux among them.
Questions about the outdoors in Bowden
What is the nearest national park to Bowden?
None within 100 km of Bowden.
What is the nearest provincial park to Bowden?
Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park, 68 km away.
What is the best season to get outdoors in Bowden?
May and September: long days, mild highs and little rain.
Sources
The sources behind Bowden’s outdoors figures
Protected areas: Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD) 2.9.0, Environment and Climate Change Canada, 2026: every area within 10 km and the nearest national and provincial parks, measured outline to outline.
Walking routes and beaches: OpenStreetMap, November 2026: named hiking, foot and walking route relations within 2 km and beaches within 5 km.
Towns: Statistics Canada 2021 Census boundaries and populations; the comparison is the Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+, not city hubs or reserves.
When to go: Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020, from the nearest station that publishes them.
Green space, paths, woods, things to do: OpenStreetMap (Geofabrik’s Canada extract), November 2026: parks, gardens, playing fields, woods, footpaths, the coastline and things to do in and around each town.
Residents: Statistics Canada 2021 Census dissemination areas (population, boundaries), each at a point inside it.
Walking routes and beaches © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database Licence (ODbL).
Not on this page: trailheads and trail grades, and beach water quality. No open Canadian dataset gives these for every town yet.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).