First pick
Cranston Residents Association
Park or garden
3.0 ha0.8 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.8 km of path
Centralin the middle of Cranston
Directionsto a point inside
2.9%protected within 10 km
Outdoors in Cranston · parks, protected land & trails
Fish Creek Provincial Park begins where Cranston ends
14 beaches are mapped within 5 km, the nearest Sikome Lake North. Within 10 km is a single protected area. Banff National Park is the closest national park, 91 km from town.
Protected land
2.9%
of the land within 10 km
Typical Canadian town: 2.3%
Protected areas
1
within 10 km, 1 public
Typical Canadian town: 14
Nearest national park
91 km
Banff National Park
Nearest provincial park
At the edge
Fish Creek Provincial Park
Beaches
14
within 5 km (OpenStreetMap)
Character
Where Cranston stands out outdoors
Each figure against Canadian towns of 2,500+; tap a tile for the detail.
A provincial park at the edgeFish Creek Provincial Park reaches the townBeaches14 beaches within 5 km
What Cranston has most to offer outdoors is a provincial park at its edge, with its beaches close behind.
Against other towns
How Cranston 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 km2.9%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 areas1Areas within 10 km held by a government or an Indigenous nation
Walking routes0Named OpenStreetMap walking and hiking routes with 300 m+ within 2 km
Beaches14Beaches mapped on OpenStreetMap within 5 km
CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC, 2026), OpenStreetMap (November 2026). Distances from the town’s outline.
Towns its size
Cranston has the 18th least protected land nearby of 40 towns its size
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (19,543 to 20,549 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
Cranston2.9%
Towns its size4.3%
Towns in Alberta0.4%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public protected areas
Cranston1
Towns its size6
Towns in Alberta2
Typical Canadian town4
Walking routes
Cranston0
Towns its size0
Towns in Alberta0
Typical Canadian town0
Where Cranston trails its peers is public protected areas; 36 of 39 have more.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kirkland QC | 41% | 0.2% | 50 | 0 | 6 |
| 2 | Overbrook ON | 14% | 1.1% | 43 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Côte-Saint-Antoine QC | 11% | 0% | 24 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Vinegar Hill ON | 8.7% | 0% | 14 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | Westmount QC | 8.5% | 0.3% | 23 | 1 | 4 |
| 6 | Lower Sackville NS | 8.5% | 14% | 25 | 1 | 3 |
| 7 | Laflèche QC | 7.4% | 0% | 20 | 0 | 5 |
| 8 | North End NS | 7% | 0% | 14 | 5 | 18 |
| 9 | Corner Brook NL | 6.3% | 3.8% | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | Sacré-Coeur QC | 6.3% | 0% | 22 | 0 | 3 |
| 11 | Longue-Pointe QC | 6.3% | 0% | 28 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | Purpleville ON | 6.2% | 13% | 65 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | Louis-Riel QC | 6.1% | 0% | 24 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | Kanata Lakes ON | 6% | 0% | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Evergreen AB | 5.9% | 1.5% | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 16 | Windsor NS | 5.7% | 2.2% | 153 | 1 | 14 |
| 17 | Quispamsis NB | 5% | 0% | 14 | 3 | 14 |
| 18 | Riverside South - Leitrim ON | 4.3% | 3.2% | 18 | 0 | 1 |
| 19 | Maple ON | 4.3% | 1.2% | 35 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Heart Lake South ON | 4.3% | 4.2% | 9 | 1 | 1 |
| 21 | Stittsville ON | 4.2% | 0% | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Lorimier QC | 4% | 0% | 17 | 0 | 3 |
| 23 | Cranston AB | 2.9% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 14 |
| 24 | Tuscany AB | 2.8% | 1.2% | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 25 | Pelham ON | 2.7% | 2.5% | 18 | 7 | 1 |
| 26 | Mount Pleasant Village ON | 2.6% | 0% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Westmount ON | 2.5% | 0% | 17 | 1 | 0 |
| 28 | Père-Marquette QC | 2.4% | 0% | 18 | 0 | 1 |
| 29 | Mitchell MB | 2.3% | 0% | 65 | 0 | 3 |
| 30 | Rosedale-Moore Park ON | 2.3% | 0% | 13 | 8 | 14 |
| 31 | Highland ON | 2.2% | 0% | 16 | 2 | 0 |
| 32 | Kemptville ON | 2.1% | 1.7% | 30 | 5 | 3 |
| 33 | Petawawa ON | 1.9% | 1.2% | 9 | 0 | 15 |
| 34 | Henry Farm ON | 1.9% | 3.8% | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Port Alberni BC | 1.8% | 2.8% | 11 | 31 | 4 |
| 36 | Yonge-Doris ON | 1.8% | 0% | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Fort York-Liberty Village ON | 1.7% | 0% | 11 | 6 | 34 |
| 38 | Loyalist ON | 1.2% | 2.2% | 24 | 0 | 2 |
| 39 | Stony Plain AB | 0.7% | 0% | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| 40 | Niagara-on-the-Lake ON | 0.6% | 0.4% | 8 | 3 | 4 |
The map
The green map of Cranston
The neighbourhood’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
Walk in Cranston: 3 named parks and woods
Largest first: Cranston Residents Association leads with 3.0 ha. Numbers match the map.
Mckenna Park
Park or garden · 220 m outside town
1.4 ha
2.2 km north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
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
All of Cranston is within a short walk of a park
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%)
Cranston100%
Towns in Alberta100%
Typical Canadian town83%
That beats the typical Canadian town, where it is 83%.
Protected areas
2.9% of the country within 10 km of Cranston is protected
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
Inside Cranston0%
Within 10 km2.9%
Towns in Alberta0.4%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
A government owns it.
Fish Creek Provincial ParkProvincial park · 1,361 ha · reaches Cranston
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
The nearest big park: Banff National Park, 91 km away
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
Fish Creek Provincial Park
At the edge · north-west14 km²since 1975
National park
Banff National Park
91 km north-west6,641 km²since 1885
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
Footpaths and woods
85 km of paths in and around Cranston
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
85 km
in and around the town (22.3 km²)
Woodland
under 0.1%
about 0 km² of mapped woods
Footpaths · km per km²
CranstonTowns in AlbertaTypical Canadian town
Footpaths3.8
02.55 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
CranstonTowns in AlbertaTypical Canadian town
Woodlandunder 0.1%
0%50%100%
Paths are denser here than in 82% of Canadian towns. Woods cover less of it than in 95% 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
No named walking route passes Cranston on the map
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 neighbourhood. 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
Get out in Cranston in May and July to September
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals from Calgary (Airport) (27 km), and daylight at the town’s latitude. Good months: 12½+ hours of daylight, highs of 15–30 °C, little rain.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 8.4 | 9.9 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 15.5 | 16.5 | 16.1 | 14.5 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.8 | 8.0 |
| High (°C) | -2 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 23 | 18 | 11 | 4 | 0 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 10 | 12 | 18 | 30 | 61 | 113 | 66 | 54 | 37 | 17 | 16 | 13 |
Snow totals about 139 cm a year. Highs peak near 24 °C in July and fall to -2 °C in January. Expect 113 mm in June, the wettest month, and 10 mm in January. The climate in Cranston →
Beaches
Beaches near Cranston: 14 within 5 km
Beaches on OpenStreetMap within 5 km of the town’s edge, nearest first, with directions.
Sikome Lake Northsand · 1.7 km from town
DirectionsSikome Lake Southsand · 1.8 km from town
DirectionsSikome Lake Westsand · 1.8 km from town
DirectionsSandy ones: 3. 11 more are mapped without a name. Beach water tests aren’t published as open data across Canada, so swimming advisories come from the local health unit.
Source: OpenStreetMap (natural=beach), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Things to do
Near Cranston: 2 viewpoints on the map
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
There are 77 playgrounds, more than of anything else.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 2
Plus 2 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Nature reserves 2
Aspen Park0.6 km from town
DirectionsPlus 1 nature reserve without a name on the map.
Picnic sites 2
Plus 2 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 77
Caterpillar Parkin town
DirectionsCranbrook Playgroundin town
DirectionsDragonfly Parkin town
DirectionsForest Creature Parkin town
DirectionsOwl Parkin town
DirectionsSoft Rubber Parkin town
DirectionsTree Parkin town
DirectionsZipline Parkin town
DirectionsPlus 69 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Next door
Next to Cranston
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page.
Auburn BayMahoganyChaparralLegacyMcKenzie TowneMcKenzie LakeCranston
Under 1%1–5%5–15%15–40%40%+
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cranston | 2.9% | 1 | 0 | 14 |
| Auburn Bay 1.5 km | 2.9% | 1 | 0 | 12 |
| Mahogany 3.4 km | 1.4% | 2 | 0 | 13 |
| Chaparral 3.5 km | 3.2% | 1 | 0 | 13 |
| Legacy 3.6 km | 3.1% | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| McKenzie Towne 3.7 km | 3% | 2 | 0 | 13 |
| McKenzie Lake 3.9 km | 3.3% | 2 | 0 | 17 |
Its neighbours have no more than twice Cranston’s protected share.
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.
- Beaches. The count includes unnamed stretches mapped as beach, which can make a lakeside town’s figure large.
- Walking routes. Only named route relations count; a park’s own path network may not show unless it is mapped as a route.
- Protected land. Measured on CPCAD’s outlines: the part of a 10 km band around the town that lies in a protected or conserved area, water included.
- National and provincial parks. A park at 0 km touches or overlaps the town’s outline; directions point from the town’s centre.
Questions about the outdoors in Cranston
What is the best season to get outdoors in Cranston?
On the normals, May and July to September: that is when days are long, highs reach 15 °C and rain is light.
What is the nearest provincial park to Cranston?
Fish Creek Provincial Park, which reaches the edge of town.
What is the nearest national park to Cranston?
Banff National Park, 91 km from the edge of town.
What is the biggest park or reserve near Cranston?
It is Fish Creek Provincial Park, a provincial park covering 1,361 ha.
What is the nearest beach to Cranston?
Sikome Lake North, 1.7 km from town, is the nearest mapped beach.
Are there protected areas near Cranston?
Yes: 2.9% of the land within 10 km is protected.
Sources
Sources for this page on Cranston
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).