Elk Island National Park lies 37 km beyond Albany’s edge
The nearest provincial park, Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park, is 5.8 km away. There is one protected area within 10 km. 1.6% of the land and water within 10 km is protected (the typical Canadian town: 2.3%).
Albany against 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. This page carries no grade, because Canada’s grading doesn’t cover the outdoors; the comparisons are the point.
CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC, 2026), OpenStreetMap (November 2026). Distances from the town’s outline.
Among 40 towns its size, Albany is 17th from the bottom for protected land
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (2,976 to 3,056 residents), by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected. Hover for each one’s figures; click for its page.
Against towns its size, Albany is weakest for public protected areas: 32 of 39 have more.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cocagne NB | 39% | 4.3% | 6 | 0 | 8 |
| 2 | Electoral Area C, Strathcona BC | 12% | 8.1% | 61 | 0 | 170 |
| 3 | Elkford BC | 12% | 16% | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Vanscoy No. 345 SK | 11% | 4.2% | 25 | 0 | 3 |
| 5 | Leslie Park - Bruce Farm ON | 11% | 0% | 24 | 2 | 5 |
| 6 | McDougall ON | 10% | 4.1% | 16 | 0 | 9 |
| 7 | Lac-des-Écorces QC | 8.8% | 4.5% | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Saint-Roch-de-Richelieu QC | 8.6% | 0.1% | 29 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | Riverside Park South - Revelstoke ON | 8.3% | 6.2% | 33 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | Kirkendall South ON | 6.9% | 0.9% | 23 | 2 | 3 |
| 11 | Buchanan ON | 6.3% | 0% | 22 | 1 | 3 |
| 12 | Saint-Anaclet-de-Lessard QC | 4.9% | 0% | 11 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | Bainbridge BC | 4% | 0% | 23 | 3 | 26 |
| 14 | North Shore PE | 3.6% | 7.3% | 19 | 11 | 18 |
| 15 | Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil QC | 3.6% | 0.1% | 26 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Grenville-sur-la-Rouge QC | 3.2% | 3.7% | 23 | 0 | 3 |
| 17 | Dewdney Place SK | 3.1% | 90% | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 18 | Huntingdon QC | 3% | 0% | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Granville AB | 2.5% | 0% | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Lesser Slave River No. 124 AB | 2.4% | 2.2% | 25 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Alpine ON | 2.1% | 0% | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Nutana Park SK | 1.7% | 0% | 18 | 0 | 1 |
| 23 | Poplar Park ON | 1.6% | 0% | 15 | 1 | 7 |
| 24 | Albany AB | 1.6% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | South Portage MB | 1.5% | 0% | 20 | 4 | 0 |
| 26 | Princeton BC | 1.2% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 18 |
| 27 | East Garafraxa ON | 1.1% | 0.6% | 16 | 4 | 0 |
| 28 | Varsity View MB | 1.1% | 0% | 19 | 1 | 37 |
| 29 | Hillcrest Management Area SK | 0.9% | 0% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Wallace-Woodworth MB | 0.8% | 0.1% | 32 | 0 | 1 |
| 31 | Lorne MB | 0.7% | 0% | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Luxton MB | 0.5% | 0% | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Tisdale SK | 0.4% | 0.2% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Sunnyside AB | 0.4% | 0% | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 35 | Stanstead QC | 0.3% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 36 | Bisset AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 37 | Kernohan AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 38 | Laurier Heights AB | 0.3% | 0% | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 39 | Markstay-Warren ON | 0.2% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Division No. 1, Subdivision E NL | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 9 |
Where the green is in Albany
Green space, woods, protected areas and footpaths in and around the neighbourhood.
A park is within a short walk for 6 in 10 in Albany
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.
Most towns do better: the typical Canadian town is at 83%. About 1,300 residents live further than 400 m from one.
1.6% of the country within 10 km of Albany is protected
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
It is public land.
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.
The parks within reach of Albany
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.
Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park
Elk Island National Park
Nearer still is Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park, a provincial park 5.8 km away.
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
35 km of paths in and around Albany
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 · km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
It is less wooded than 59% of Canadian towns. Few places match it for paths: more than 54% of Canadian towns have fewer.
Source: OpenStreetMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Mapping varies by place: a dense figure can mean keen local mappers as much as many paths.
No mapped walking route near Albany
Named walking and hiking routes on OpenStreetMap with at least 300 m within 2 km of the town, longest first; national routes lead.
No named route shows within 2 km of the neighbourhood; volunteers map trails unevenly from one region to the next.
Source: OpenStreetMap (route relations hiking, foot and walking), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Trans Canada Trail sections as OSM maps them.
The best months for walking in Albany: May, August and September
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals from Edmonton (City) (7.1 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) | 8.0 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.9 | 17.0 | 16.6 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| High (°C) | -6 | -3 | 2 | 10 | 18 | 21 | 24 | 23 | 18 | 10 | 1 | -5 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 20 | 12 | 17 | 29 | 44 | 70 | 83 | 61 | 39 | 21 | 18 | 12 |
January brings highs of -6 °C, July highs of 24 °C. Expect 83 mm in July, warm and wet, and 12 mm in February. About 124 cm of snow falls in a year. The climate in Albany →
Outdoors around Albany: 29 places to go
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
28 playgrounds top the list.
Every named place, with directions
Playgrounds 28
Plus 25 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks 1
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
William Hawrelak Park, 11 km from Albany, is the garden 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.
Sources: 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 to Albany
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page.
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albany | 1.6% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Oxford 1.4 km | 1.7% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Carlton 1.4 km | 2% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Rapperswill 1.5 km | 1.2% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dunluce 1.8 km | 1.3% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Canossa 2.1 km | 0.9% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Cumberland 2.4 km | 2% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Around Albany, nobody nearby has double its protected land.
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.
- 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. Distances run from the town’s edge to the park’s, so 0 km means they touch.
Questions about the outdoors in Albany
How far is Albany from a national park?
The nearest is Elk Island National Park, 37 km away.
Which is the biggest protected area near Albany?
Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park, a provincial park of 2,055 ha.
Is there protected land near Albany?
Within 10 km, 1.6% of the land lies in protected areas.
When should you visit Albany for the outdoors?
May, August and September: long days, mild highs and little rain.
Is there a provincial park near Albany?
The closest is Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park, at 5.8 km.
Sources for this page on Albany
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).