Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Kurayba · CC BY-SA 2.0The closest provincial park is Big Island Provincial Park, 6.0 km from the edge of town. OpenStreetMap shows 3 walking routes nearby, including the Amisk Wacîw Mêskanaw and River Loop Trail. Out to 10 km from the town’s edge, 0.3% of the land is protected; 2.3% is typical for a Canadian town.
Each figure against Canadian towns of 2,500+; tap a tile for the detail.
For someone who likes to get outside, Brookside’s draw is its choice of walking routes. It has less to offer in protected land nearby.
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.
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (3,123 to 3,223 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, Brookside is weakest for protected land nearby: 32 of 39 have more.
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trois-Pistoles QC | 44% | 0.9% | 20 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | Pincher Creek No. 9 AB | 32% | 30% | 74 | 11 | 43 |
| 3 | Electoral Area C (Part 1), Kitimat-Stikine BC | 21% | 17% | 36 | 0 | 84 |
| 4 | Saint-Alexis-des-Monts QC | 16% | 12% | 43 | 15 | 8 |
| 5 | Welcome Beach BC | 15% | 8.8% | 37 | 0 | 60 |
| 6 | Percé QC | 15% | 2.2% | 39 | 2 | 20 |
| 7 | Queensway Terrace North ON | 12% | 0% | 26 | 4 | 6 |
| 8 | New Maryland NB | 11% | 25% | 28 | 0 | 3 |
| 9 | French River / Rivière des Français ON | 9.5% | 8.1% | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré QC | 9.1% | 0.2% | 31 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Roblin MB | 8.8% | 0.5% | 37 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Saint-David-de-Falardeau QC | 8.6% | 3.7% | 13 | 0 | 3 |
| 13 | Chalk River ON | 8.2% | 1% | 29 | 0 | 21 |
| 14 | Beaumont QC | 7.7% | 0.1% | 42 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | Kingsclear NB | 7.4% | 7.7% | 31 | 1 | 14 |
| 16 | Gilbert ON | 7.2% | 0% | 16 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | Paspébiac QC | 6.5% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| 18 | Electoral Area D, North Okanagan BC | 6.2% | 6.4% | 26 | 0 | 10 |
| 19 | Adstock QC | 5% | 8.3% | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| 20 | Marathon ON | 4.6% | 3% | 4 | 1 | 30 |
| 21 | St. Clair ON | 4.5% | 0% | 23 | 1 | 3 |
| 22 | Blakeley ON | 4.1% | 0% | 22 | 1 | 3 |
| 23 | Cedar Hill ON | 1.9% | 0% | 21 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Garrison Woods AB | 1.9% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Lakeshore ON | 1.5% | 0% | 15 | 0 | 8 |
| 26 | Minburn County No. 27 AB | 1.2% | 0.9% | 120 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Thorhild County AB | 1.2% | 1.9% | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Erlton AB | 1.2% | 0% | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 29 | Jasper Park AB | 1.1% | 0% | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 30 | Sturgeon Creek MB | 1% | 0% | 9 | 1 | 37 |
| 31 | Mont-Saint-Grégoire QC | 0.9% | 0.8% | 12 | 1 | 1 |
| 32 | Lower Mount Royal AB | 0.6% | 0% | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 33 | Adelaide-Metcalfe ON | 0.3% | 0% | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Westgate AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Brookside AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 36 | Enniskillen ON | 0.2% | 0.3% | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Valhalla MB | 0.2% | 0.6% | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Bishop's Falls NL | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 39 | La Loche SK | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Crystallina Nera West AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The neighbourhood’s parks, woods, protected land and paths, with its named places numbered.
Largest first: Whitemud Park leads with 135 ha. Numbers match the map.
Add Whitemud Creek Ravine to Whitemud Park and you have 91% of it.
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.
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.
The typical Canadian town manages 83%, so this is better.
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
All 2 are public land. Biggest of the named areas: Big Island Provincial Park, 79 ha.
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 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.
A provincial park is closer: Big Island Provincial Park, at 6.0 km.
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
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).
It is more wooded than 63% of Canadian towns. Paths are denser here than in 96% 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.
Named walking and hiking routes on OpenStreetMap with at least 300 m within 2 km of the town, longest first; national routes lead.
For a longer outing, the Amisk Wacîw Mêskanaw runs 83.8 km.
Source: OpenStreetMap (route relations hiking, foot and walking), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Trans Canada Trail sections as OSM maps them.
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals from Edmonton (City) (9.8 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 | 16.5 | 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 |
Snow totals about 124 cm a year. Highs peak near 24 °C in July and fall to -6 °C in January. The warmest month, July, is also the wettest (83 mm), while February is driest at 12 mm. The climate in Brookside →
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
The map shows 53 playgrounds, ahead of the rest.
Plus 18 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Plus 50 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Plus 4 dog parks without a name on the map.
Plus 1 slipway without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brookside | 0.3% | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Ramsay Heights 1.0 km | 0.3% | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Bulyea Heights 1.2 km | 0.3% | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Westbrook Estates 1.6 km | 0.3% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Royal Gardens 2.2 km | 0.3% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Malmo Plains 2.5 km | 0.3% | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Rhatigan Ridge 2.5 km | 0.5% | 4 | 2 | 0 |
None of its neighbours has twice the protected land around it that Brookside has.
Elk Island National Park, 39 km from the edge of town.
Try the Amisk Wacîw Mêskanaw, River Loop Trail and Wander Trail; more are on the map.
Protected areas cover 0.3% of the land within 10 km.
Big Island Provincial Park, 6.0 km away.
It is Big Island Provincial Park, a provincial park covering 79 ha.
May, August and September: long days, mild highs and little rain.
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).