First pick
Sue Higgins Park
Park or garden
36 ha8.8 km of path
2 hto walk all 8.8 km of path
0.8 km south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Thank you for visiting my page from Canada · CC BY 2.03.1%protected within 10 km
Outdoors in Riverbend · parks, protected land & trails
The nearest provincial park, Fish Creek Provincial Park, is 2.6 km from Riverbend
8 beaches are mapped within 5 km, the nearest Trout Beach. Banff National Park is the closest national park, 82 km from town. CPCAD lists 3 protected areas within 10 km.
Protected land
3.1%
of the land within 10 km
Typical Canadian town: 2.3%
Protected areas
3
within 10 km, 3 public
Typical Canadian town: 14
Nearest national park
82 km
Banff National Park
Nearest provincial park
2.6 km
Fish Creek Provincial Park
Beaches
8
within 5 km (OpenStreetMap)
Against other towns
Each figure for Riverbend, 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. No letter: the outdoors is described for Canadian towns, not graded.
Protected within 10 km3.1%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 areas3Areas within 10 km held by a government or an Indigenous nation
Walking routes0Named OpenStreetMap walking and hiking routes with 300 m+ within 2 km
Beaches8Beaches mapped on OpenStreetMap within 5 km
CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC, 2026), OpenStreetMap (November 2026). Distances from the town’s outline.
Towns its size
Among 40 towns its size, Riverbend is 20th from the bottom for protected land
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (9,027 to 9,364 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
Riverbend3.1%
Towns its size3.2%
Towns in Alberta0.4%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public protected areas
Riverbend3
Towns its size4
Towns in Alberta2
Typical Canadian town4
Walking routes
Riverbend0
Towns its size0
Towns in Alberta0
Typical Canadian town0
For public protected areas, Riverbend lags towns its size: 22 of 39 are ahead.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Three Rivers PE | 31% | 4.4% | 64 | 14 | 42 |
| 2 | Crescent Heights BC | 27% | 13% | 132 | 4 | 4 |
| 3 | Mount Royale NS | 15% | 24% | 18 | 5 | 14 |
| 4 | Braemar Park-Belair Heights-Copeland Park ON | 13% | 1.7% | 30 | 2 | 7 |
| 5 | Fall River NS | 11% | 2.9% | 26 | 1 | 4 |
| 6 | Centrepointe - Briargreen ON | 11% | 0% | 26 | 1 | 5 |
| 7 | Beaver Bank NS | 8.2% | 3.8% | 31 | 2 | 6 |
| 8 | Burnaby Mountain BC | 8.1% | 0% | 36 | 2 | 84 |
| 9 | Saint-Robert QC | 7.8% | 0% | 22 | 0 | 4 |
| 10 | Strathcona ON | 6% | 13% | 26 | 1 | 3 |
| 11 | Boischatel QC | 5.9% | 0% | 25 | 0 | 6 |
| 12 | H-Section (bramalea) ON | 5.5% | 0% | 7 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | Vankleek Hill ON | 5.2% | 0.1% | 19 | 0 | 4 |
| 14 | Saint-Apollinaire QC | 5.1% | 0% | 23 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | L'Épiphanie QC | 4% | 0% | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Walsh Acres/Lakeridge/Garden Ridge SK | 3.6% | 0% | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Sundance AB | 3.3% | 34% | 1 | 0 | 14 |
| 18 | Thistletown-Beaumond Heights ON | 3.2% | 0% | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | North Central SK | 3.2% | 0% | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| 20 | Fish Creek Park AB | 3.2% | 53% | 4 | 0 | 20 |
| 21 | Riverbend AB | 3.1% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 8 |
| 22 | Fletchers Meadow South ON | 2.7% | 11% | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | Old East York ON | 2.4% | 4.6% | 13 | 3 | 15 |
| 24 | Stony Mountain MB | 2.3% | 2.3% | 12 | 4 | 1 |
| 25 | Danforth ON | 2.3% | 0% | 13 | 4 | 24 |
| 26 | Sainte-Brigitte-de-Laval QC | 1.7% | 0% | 24 | 0 | 2 |
| 27 | Portugal Cove-St. Philip's NL | 1.5% | 0% | 3 | 2 | 35 |
| 28 | Kimberley BC | 1.5% | 1.2% | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Churchville ON | 1.2% | 2% | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Hampton Village SK | 1.2% | 0% | 14 | 0 | 2 |
| 31 | University Heights Urban Centre SK | 0.9% | 0% | 12 | 1 | 3 |
| 32 | Barbertown ON | 0.8% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Silver Springs AB | 0.8% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 34 | Hawkwood AB | 0.5% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 35 | La Salle MB | 0.4% | 0% | 25 | 0 | 1 |
| 36 | Downtown Commercial Core AB | 0.4% | 0% | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 37 | Coaticook QC | 0.3% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| 38 | Amber Trails MB | 0.3% | 0% | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Mount Pleasant AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 40 | Cooksville NHD (East) ON | 0.1% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 3 |
The map
Riverbend on the map: green space, protected land and paths
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
6 parks and woods to walk in, in or near Riverbend
Sue Higgins Park is the largest, at 36 ha; the rest follow by size, numbered as on the map.
6 named parks and woods, 131 ha in all
Parks & gardens 131 ha
Between them, Sue Higgins Park and Carburn Park cover 52%.
Carburn Park
Park or garden
32 ha5 km of path
1 h 5 minto walk all 5 km of path
1.0 km westfrom the centre
Bow River PathwayCarburn park connector
Directionsto a point inside
Beaverdam Flats Feeder
Park or garden · 60 m outside town
30 ha4.3 km of path
1 hto walk all 4.3 km of path
2.8 km northfrom the centre
Bow River Pathway
Directionsto a point inside
Old Refinery Park
Park or garden · 110 m outside town
27 ha1.8 km of path
25 minto walk all 1.8 km of path
3.5 km northfrom the centre
Bow River Pathway
Directionsto a point inside
2004 BP Birthplace Forest
Park or garden
5.4 ha
3.4 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
In Riverbend, nearly every home is close to 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 (98%)Further (1.8%)
Riverbend98%
Towns in Alberta100%
Typical Canadian town83%
A typical Canadian town reaches only 83%. About 200 residents live further than 400 m from one.
Protected areas
3.1% of the country within 10 km of Riverbend 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 Riverbend0%
Within 10 km3.1%
Towns in Alberta0.4%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Each of the 3 is held by a public body. Fish Creek Provincial Park covers 1,361 ha, the most of any named area.
Inglewood Migratory Bird SanctuaryWildlife area · 111 ha · 1.3 km from the edge of town
Fish Creek Provincial ParkProvincial park · 1,361 ha · 2.6 km from the edge of town
Griffith Woods ParkMunicipal park · 110 ha · 10.0 km from the edge of town
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, 82 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
2.6 km south14 km²since 1975
National park
Banff National Park
82 km north-west6,641 km²since 1885
Nearer still is Fish Creek Provincial Park, a provincial park 2.6 km away.
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
Footpaths and woods
97 km of paths in and around Riverbend
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
97 km
in and around the town (30.3 km²)
Woodland
0.4%
about 0.1 km² of mapped woods
Footpaths · km per km²
RiverbendTowns in AlbertaTypical Canadian town
Footpaths3.2
024 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
RiverbendTowns in AlbertaTypical Canadian town
Woodland0.4%
0%50%100%
For woods, 87% of Canadian towns have more. It has more footpath per km² than 74% 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 Riverbend 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.
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
Get out in Riverbend in May and July to September
Daylight at the town’s latitude and ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals (Calgary (Airport), 16 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 | 14.5 | 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 |
For dry weather, January is best (10 mm); June gets 113 mm. Highs peak near 24 °C in July and fall to -2 °C in January. Snow totals about 139 cm a year. The climate in Riverbend →
Beaches
Trout Beach, 4.0 km away, is the beach near Riverbend
Beaches on OpenStreetMap within 5 km of the town’s edge, nearest first, with directions.
Trout Beachrock · 4.0 km from town
DirectionsThere are also 7 beaches without a name. No national or provincial register of beach water quality is published as open data, so check the local health unit before swimming.
Source: OpenStreetMap (natural=beach), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Things to do
Riverbend has a viewpoint within 2 km
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: 90 on the map.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 1
Plus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Nature reserves 2
Plus 2 nature reserves without a name on the map.
Picnic sites 2
Plus 2 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 90
South Hill Mobile Park Playground0.1 km from town
DirectionsAccessible Playground0.8 km from town
DirectionsManchester Playground1.3 km from town
DirectionsElina Playground1.7 km from town
DirectionsSingh Hari Park1.8 km from town
DirectionsPlus 85 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks 2
Fairview Off-Leash Dog Park1.0 km from town
DirectionsSouthview Off Leash Dog Park1.7 km from town
DirectionsSlipways 5
Plus 5 slipways without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Gardens to visit
4 gardens within reach of Riverbend
Gardens and arboretums within 15 km of the town’s edge, and the historic gardens, parks and estates in the town itself, nearest first.
Olympic PlazaGarden or park · 3.9 km from town
DirectionsBarb Scott ParkGarden or park · 4.1 km from town
DirectionsDevonian GardensGarden or park · 4.2 km from town
DirectionsPrince's Island ParkGarden or park · 5.1 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 Riverbend
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page.
OgdenWillow ParkAcadiaDouglasdale/GlenFairviewQueenslandRiverbend
Under 1%1–5%5–15%15–40%40%+
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riverbend | 3.1% | 3 | 0 | 8 |
| Ogden 1.6 km | 2.9% | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| Willow Park 2.8 km | 3.4% | 3 | 0 | 8 |
| Acadia 2.8 km | 3.8% | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| Douglasdale/Glen 3.3 km | 2.2% | 2 | 0 | 19 |
| Fairview 3.3 km | 3.7% | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| Queensland 4.0 km | 4% | 2 | 0 | 11 |
Riverbend 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
- Walking routes. Only named route relations count; a park’s own path network may not show unless it is mapped as a route.
- 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.
- National and provincial parks. A park at 0 km touches or overlaps the town’s outline; directions point from the town’s centre.
- Protected land. CPCAD maps each protected area; the page counts how much of the 10 km around the town they cover, lakes and sea included.
- Beaches. Beaches are OpenStreetMap’s, named or not; in the north many are unnamed shoreline imports.
Questions about the outdoors in Riverbend
How much land around Riverbend is protected?
Within 10 km, 3.1% of the land lies in protected areas.
What is the nearest beach to Riverbend?
Try Trout Beach, 4.0 km from town, first of several.
Is there a provincial park near Riverbend?
Fish Creek Provincial Park, 2.6 km from the edge of town.
When is the best time for walking in Riverbend?
May and July to September: long days, mild highs and little rain.
Is Riverbend near a national park?
Banff National Park is closest, at 82 km.
What is the largest protected area near Riverbend?
Fish Creek Provincial Park, a provincial park of 1,361 ha.
Sources
The sources behind Riverbend’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.
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).