First pick
Hidden Ranch Park
Park or garden · 300 m outside town
2.3 ha0.3 km of path
2.5 km southfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
–Not graded
Outdoors in Evanston · parks, protected land & trails
12 km from Evanston to Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park
Out to 10 km from the town’s edge, 0% of the land is protected; 2.3% is typical for a Canadian town. A drive of 72 km reaches Banff National Park, the nearest national park.
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 national park
72 km
Banff National Park
Nearest provincial park
12 km
Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park
Against other towns
Each figure for Evanston, set against 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. This page carries no grade, because Canada’s grading doesn’t cover the outdoors; the comparisons are the point.
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, Evanston is 2nd from the bottom for protected land
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (21,062 to 22,026 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
Evanston0%
Towns its size2.1%
Towns in Alberta0.4%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public protected areas
Evanston0
Towns its size6
Towns in Alberta2
Typical Canadian town4
Walking routes
Evanston0
Towns its size1
Towns in Alberta0
Typical Canadian town0
Where Evanston trails its peers is walking routes; 20 of 39 have more.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dorval QC | 20% | 0.2% | 38 | 0 | 6 |
| 2 | Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac QC | 19% | 0.1% | 28 | 0 | 7 |
| 3 | Dunbar-Southlands BC | 17% | 0.9% | 12 | 1 | 62 |
| 4 | Mont-Bleu QC | 17% | 12% | 33 | 2 | 3 |
| 5 | Cornell ON | 12% | 16% | 9 | 2 | 1 |
| 6 | Upper Lachine QC | 12% | 0% | 23 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | South End NS | 11% | 4.5% | 19 | 6 | 22 |
| 8 | South Frontenac ON | 9.4% | 13% | 89 | 18 | 5 |
| 9 | Varennes QC | 9.3% | 6.2% | 56 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | Colchester County, Subdivision B NS | 9% | 4.9% | 84 | 10 | 5 |
| 11 | Rivière-des-Prairies QC | 8.8% | 8.6% | 41 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | Petite-Bourgogne QC | 8.4% | 0% | 24 | 1 | 5 |
| 13 | Ile-des-Soeurs QC | 7.8% | 8% | 24 | 0 | 7 |
| 14 | Parcours-du-Cerf - Du Tremblay QC | 6.9% | 0% | 32 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | Old Barrhaven West ON | 6% | 0% | 18 | 2 | 0 |
| 16 | Cole Harbour NS | 4.4% | 6.9% | 22 | 2 | 17 |
| 17 | Sandalwood East (mountainash) ON | 4.3% | 11% | 12 | 0 | 1 |
| 18 | Black Creek ON | 2.7% | 1% | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | East L'Amoreaux ON | 2.2% | 0% | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | L'Amoreaux West ON | 2.2% | 0% | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Port Colborne ON | 2% | 2.1% | 10 | 0 | 8 |
| 22 | Chameran/Montpellier QC | 1.9% | 0% | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | The Beaches ON | 1.9% | 0% | 11 | 3 | 44 |
| 24 | Carling ON | 1.7% | 3.5% | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | Englemount-Lawrence ON | 1.4% | 0% | 13 | 2 | 0 |
| 26 | Sunningdale ON | 1.4% | 1.6% | 18 | 2 | 0 |
| 27 | White Oaks ON | 1.4% | 0.1% | 14 | 1 | 0 |
| 28 | South Parkdale ON | 1.3% | 0% | 10 | 4 | 22 |
| 29 | Kingsview Village-The Westway ON | 0.9% | 0% | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Oakdale-Beverley Heights ON | 0.9% | 0% | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| 31 | Sturgeon County AB | 0.8% | 0.7% | 25 | 8 | 1 |
| 32 | Middlesex Centre ON | 0.5% | 0.5% | 22 | 5 | 0 |
| 33 | Lloydminster (Part) AB | 0.5% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Tillsonburg ON | 0.2% | 0% | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 35 | Lakeview ON | 0.2% | 0.8% | 5 | 1 | 7 |
| 36 | Forest Glade ON | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 37 | Steinbach MB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 38 | Riverside ON | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 39 | Evanston AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Saddle Ridge AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The map
Parks, woods and paths around Evanston
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 Evanston: 6 named parks and woods
The biggest is Hidden Ranch Park, 2.3 ha. Biggest first, numbered as on the map.
6 named parks and woods, 6 ha in all
Parks & gardens 5.5 ha
69% of the area is in just two places: Hidden Ranch Park and Evanston Off-Leash Dog Area.
Evanston Off-Leash Dog Area
Park or garden
1.5 ha
Centralin the middle of Evanston
Directionsto a point inside
Curious Park
Park or garden · 250 m outside town
0.2 ha0.2 km of path
1.8 km north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Evanston Family Playground
Park or garden
0.4 ha
1.4 km north-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Carringham Park
Park or garden · 340 m outside town
0.2 ha
2.2 km north-eastfrom 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 Evanston 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%)
Evanston100%
Towns in Alberta100%
Typical Canadian town83%
The typical Canadian town manages 83%, so this is better.
Protected areas
There is no protected land within 10 km of Evanston
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
For protected land, people look to Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park, 12 km off.
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
Banff National Park, 72 km off
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
Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park
12 km west13 km²since 2008
National park
Banff National Park
72 km west6,641 km²since 1885
Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park, a provincial park, is nearer at 12 km.
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
Footpaths and woods
90 km of paths in and around Evanston
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
90 km
in and around the town (20.8 km²)
Woodland
0.2%
about 0 km² of mapped woods
Footpaths · km per km²
EvanstonTowns in AlbertaTypical Canadian town
Footpaths4.3
02.55 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
EvanstonTowns in AlbertaTypical Canadian town
Woodland0.2%
0%50%100%
Woods cover less of it than in 91% of Canadian towns. It has more footpath per km² than 86% 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 mapped walking route near Evanston
Named walking and hiking routes on OpenStreetMap with at least 300 m within 2 km of the town, longest first; national routes lead.
The map shows no named route near the neighbourhood. That says more about OpenStreetMap’s coverage than about the paths on the ground.
Source: OpenStreetMap (route relations hiking, foot and walking), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Trans Canada Trail sections as OSM maps them.
When to get out
Evanston is best on foot in May and July to September
Daylight at the town’s latitude and ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals (Calgary (Airport), 9.2 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) | 8.4 | 9.9 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 15.5 | 16.5 | 16.1 | 14.6 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.8 | 7.9 |
| 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 |
January brings highs of -2 °C, July highs of 24 °C. Precipitation runs from 10 mm in January to 113 mm in June. About 139 cm of snow falls in a year. The climate in Evanston →
Things to do
85 things to do outdoors near Evanston
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
The most common are playgrounds: 83 on the map.
Every named place, with directions
Playgrounds 83
Evansfield Playgroundin town
DirectionsEvansglen Family Playgroundin town
DirectionsSage Meadows Playgroundin town
DirectionsCarrington Playground0.2 km from town
DirectionsHidden Hut Playground0.4 km from town
DirectionsPlus 78 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks 2
Evanston Off-Leash Dog Areain town
DirectionsLivingston Off Leash Dog Park1.7 km from town
DirectionsSource: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Gardens to visit
Near Evanston: 2 gardens and parks to visit
Gardens and arboretums within 15 km of the town’s edge, and the historic gardens, parks and estates in the town itself, nearest first.
Prince's Island ParkGarden or park · 11 km from town
DirectionsOlympic PlazaGarden or park · 12 km from town
DirectionsSources: OpenStreetMap (leisure=garden), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL, and Wikidata (CC0), as gathered in TownRatings’ Canadian attractions set; historic places from Parks Canada’s Directory of Federal Heritage Designations, the Canadian Register of Historic Places and Québec’s Répertoire du patrimoine culturel.
Next door
Next to Evanston
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page.
KincoraSage HillCarringtonPanorama HillsHidden ValleySherwoodEvanston
Under 1%1–5%5–15%15–40%40%+
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evanston | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kincora 1.8 km | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sage Hill 2.3 km | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Carrington 2.4 km | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Panorama Hills 2.5 km | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hidden Valley 2.5 km | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sherwood 3.0 km | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Next door, protected shares stay within twice Evanston’s.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Private land. CPCAD includes conservation land held privately; the page counts it and leaves the names out.
- Walking routes. The list is OpenStreetMap’s, so a missing trail may just be unmapped. The Trans Canada Trail appears where OSM maps it.
- Protected land. The 10 km band starts at the town’s outline, not its centre, so a large municipality reaches further than a small town.
- National and provincial parks. The nearest national park and the nearest provincial park are always shown when they are within 100 km.
Questions about the outdoors in Evanston
How far is the nearest provincial park from Evanston?
Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park, 12 km from the edge of town.
What is the best season to get outdoors in Evanston?
May and July to September, on the 1991–2020 normals and the daylight: long days, highs of 15 °C or more, light rain for the place.
How far is Evanston from a national park?
Banff National Park is closest, at 72 km.
Sources
Sources for this page on Evanston
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.
Gardens: OpenStreetMap (leisure=garden) and Wikidata gardens within 15 km, as gathered in TownRatings’ Canadian attractions set; historic gardens and parks from Canada’s heritage registers (Parks Canada DFHD, the Canadian Register of Historic Places, Québec’s Répertoire du patrimoine culturel).
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).