First pick
Terwillegar Park
Park or garden · 240 m outside town
224 ha35.6 km of path
7 h 55 minto walk all 35.6 km of path
4.2 km northfrom the centre
Go TrailSecret TrailJustice Training Loop+5 paths
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Joli Rumi · CC BY-SA 4.01%protected within 10 km
Outdoors in Windermere · parks, protected land & trails
Windermere borders Big Island Provincial Park
The nearest national park is Elk Island National Park, 43 km away. OpenStreetMap shows 2 walking routes nearby, including the Amisk Wacîw Mêskanaw and Aspen Parkland Trail. Protected areas cover 1% of the land within 10 km; for the typical Canadian town it is 2.3%.
Protected land
1%
of the land within 10 km
Typical Canadian town: 2.3%
Protected areas
12
within 10 km, 3 public
Typical Canadian town: 14
Nearest national park
43 km
Elk Island National Park
Nearest provincial park
At the edge
Big Island Provincial Park
Walking routes
2
named, within 2 km (OpenStreetMap)
Against other towns
Windermere beside other Canadian towns, figure by figure
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 km1%Share of the land and water within 10 km of the town’s edge in a protected or conserved area
Protected in town2.3%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 routes2Named 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
Windermere has the 10th least protected land nearby of 40 towns its size
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (14,652 to 15,194 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
Windermere1%
Towns its size2.2%
Towns in Alberta0.4%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public protected areas
Windermere3
Towns its size6
Towns in Alberta2
Typical Canadian town4
Walking routes
Windermere2
Towns its size1
Towns in Alberta0
Typical Canadian town0
For walking routes, Windermere sits near the top of its size group: 7 of 39 have more. On protected land nearby it is behind: 30 of 39 have more.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Whistler BC | 56% | 26% | 11 | 3 | 8 |
| 2 | Les Rapides QC | 16% | 0% | 34 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | Arbutus Ridge BC | 15% | 0% | 12 | 2 | 62 |
| 4 | Rivière-Gatineau QC | 13% | 0% | 38 | 1 | 2 |
| 5 | Dupéré QC | 7.7% | 0% | 23 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | Pointe-Saint-Charles QC | 7.7% | 0% | 24 | 1 | 6 |
| 7 | Middle Sackville NS | 6.4% | 6.5% | 25 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | Vieux-Bourg QC | 6.1% | 0% | 20 | 0 | 5 |
| 9 | Saint-Louis QC | 6.1% | 0.1% | 19 | 1 | 3 |
| 10 | Bécancour QC | 6% | 1.1% | 42 | 1 | 13 |
| 11 | Powell River BC | 5.5% | 0.1% | 5 | 6 | 9 |
| 12 | Vales of Castlemore ON | 5.2% | 21% | 15 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | Guildford BC | 4.5% | 4% | 125 | 4 | 5 |
| 14 | Buttonville ON | 3.2% | 0% | 34 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Limoges ON | 3.1% | 5.7% | 31 | 0 | 2 |
| 16 | Royal Orchard ON | 3% | 0% | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | Orsainville QC | 2.5% | 0% | 15 | 0 | 6 |
| 18 | Taylor-Massey ON | 2.3% | 13% | 12 | 1 | 15 |
| 19 | Doon South ON | 2.3% | 16% | 22 | 2 | 0 |
| 20 | Springbrook ON | 2.2% | 15% | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Hyde Park ON | 2.2% | 0.6% | 15 | 2 | 0 |
| 22 | South London ON | 2% | 1.2% | 15 | 2 | 0 |
| 23 | North Battleford SK | 1.9% | 0% | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Lawrence Park South ON | 1.7% | 0% | 15 | 2 | 1 |
| 25 | Saint-Vincent-de-Paul QC | 1.5% | 0% | 23 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Lawrence Park North ON | 1.5% | 0% | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| 27 | Des Châtels QC | 1.3% | 0% | 25 | 1 | 2 |
| 28 | Roncesvalles ON | 1.3% | 0% | 10 | 4 | 17 |
| 29 | Lakewood SK | 1.3% | 0% | 14 | 0 | 3 |
| 30 | Ingersoll ON | 1.1% | 0% | 8 | 2 | 0 |
| 31 | Windermere AB | 1% | 2.3% | 12 | 2 | 0 |
| 32 | Campbellford ON | 0.8% | 0.5% | 24 | 7 | 0 |
| 33 | Chappelle AB | 0.8% | 0% | 12 | 1 | 1 |
| 34 | Carleton Place ON | 0.6% | 0% | 7 | 0 | 1 |
| 35 | Rockwood ON | 0.5% | 0.4% | 27 | 15 | 5 |
| 36 | Lacombe AB | 0.5% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Truro NS | 0.1% | 0.3% | 10 | 4 | 0 |
| 38 | Mountain View County AB | 0.1% | 0.1% | 11 | 0 | 1 |
| 39 | Cooksville NHD (West) ON | 0.1% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 40 | Portage la Prairie MB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The map
Windermere on the map: green space, protected land and paths
Green space, woods, protected areas and footpaths in and around the neighbourhood; tap a number for its park or wood.
Green: OpenStreetMap parks, gardens, playing fields and woods. Hatched: CPCAD protected areas.© OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL); CPCAD (OGL-Canada)
Places to walk
4 named parks and woods to walk in near Windermere
Terwillegar Park is the largest, at 224 ha; the rest follow by size, numbered as on the map.
4 named parks and woods, 249 ha in all
Parks & gardens 229 haWoods 20 ha
The bulk, 97%, is Terwillegar Park and Section 19 Woodlot.
Ridgecrest Park
Park or garden · 210 m outside town
4.8 ha0.6 km of path
5 minto walk all 0.6 km of path
3.5 km southfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Ambleside Treestand
Wood or forest
3.7 ha0.2 km of path
1.2 km southfrom 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
9 in 10 people in Windermere live near 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 (86%)Further (15%)
Windermere86%
Towns in Alberta100%
Typical Canadian town83%
A typical Canadian town reaches only 83%. For about 2,200 people, the nearest park is over 400 m away.
Protected areas
1% of the country within 10 km of Windermere 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 Windermere2.3%
Within 10 km1%
Towns in Alberta0.4%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public ownership covers 3 of the 12. At 79 ha, Big Island Provincial Park is the largest. The figures include 9 private conservation areas, left unnamed.
Big Island Provincial ParkProvincial park · 79 ha · reaches Windermere
Larch SanctuaryNature reserve · 24 ha · 3.2 km from the edge of town
Clifford E. Lee Natural AreaNature reserve · 11 ha · 6.2 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: Elk Island National Park, 43 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
Big Island Provincial Park
At the edge0.8 km²since 2023
National park
Elk Island National Park
43 km east194 km²since 1913
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
Footpaths and woods
Paths to walk: 143 km in and around Windermere
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
143 km
in and around the town (64.1 km²)
Woodland
16%
about 10.2 km² of mapped woods
Footpaths · km per km²
WindermereTowns in AlbertaTypical Canadian town
Footpaths2.2
024 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
WindermereTowns in AlbertaTypical Canadian town
Woodland16%
0%50%100%
It is more wooded than 62% of Canadian towns. For path density, it beats 59% 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
Windermere has 2 named walking routes
Named walking and hiking routes on OpenStreetMap with at least 300 m within 2 km of the town, longest first; national routes lead.
RegionalLocal
Amisk Wacîw Mêskanaw83.8 km
Aspen Parkland Trail4.4 km
The longest of the rest is the Amisk Wacîw Mêskanaw, 83.8 km.
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 Windermere in May, August and September
Daylight at the town’s latitude and ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals (Edmonton (Airport), 13 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) | 8.0 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.9 | 17.0 | 16.5 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| High (°C) | -7 | -4 | 1 | 10 | 18 | 21 | 23 | 22 | 18 | 10 | 0 | -5 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 22 | 12 | 17 | 30 | 47 | 75 | 87 | 53 | 35 | 22 | 20 | 15 |
The wettest month is the warmest, July (87 mm); February has 12 mm. From -7 °C in January to 23 °C in July: that is the range of daytime highs. The yearly snowfall is near 127 cm. The climate in Windermere →
Things to do
42 things to do outdoors near Windermere
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
Top of the list: playgrounds, 40 of them.
Every named place, with directions
Nature reserves 1
Big Island Provincial Parkin town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 40
splash padin town
DirectionsSpider Park0.4 km from town
DirectionsPlus 38 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks 1
Plus 1 dog park without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Gardens to visit
2 gardens within reach of Windermere
Gardens and arboretums within 15 km of the town’s edge, and the historic gardens, parks and estates in the town itself, nearest first.
University of Alberta Botanic GardenGarden or park · 4.7 km from town
DirectionsWilliam Hawrelak ParkGarden or park · 8.6 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 Windermere
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page.
AmblesideKeswickGlenridding HeightsHaddowSouth TerwillegarTerwillegar TowneWindermere
Under 1%1–5%5–15%15–40%40%+
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windermere | 1% | 12 | 2 | 0 |
| Ambleside 1.2 km | 1% | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| Keswick 2.0 km | 1.5% | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| Glenridding Heights 2.2 km | 1.1% | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Haddow 2.4 km | 0.9% | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| South Terwillegar 2.7 km | 0.8% | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Terwillegar Towne 3.0 km | 0.7% | 4 | 1 | 0 |
None of the places nearby has twice as much protected land around it as Windermere.
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.
- Walking routes. Routes are what OpenStreetMap’s volunteers have mapped as named walking or hiking routes; many good trails aren’t mapped that way.
- Protected land. The share is of the land and water within 10 km of the town’s outline, from CPCAD’s mapped areas; marine areas count, so a coastal town can score high on water.
- 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 Windermere
What is the largest protected area near Windermere?
Big Island Provincial Park, a provincial park of 79 ha.
How much land around Windermere is protected?
Protected areas cover 1% of the land within 10 km.
Is Windermere near a national park?
It is Elk Island National Park, 43 km off.
Where can you walk near Windermere?
OpenStreetMap maps the Amisk Wacîw Mêskanaw and Aspen Parkland Trail close by, with others.
Is there a provincial park near Windermere?
Big Island Provincial Park begins at the town’s edge.
When is the best time for walking in Windermere?
On the normals, May, August and September: that is when days are long, highs reach 15 °C and rain is light.
Sources
Where Windermere’s outdoors figures come from
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).