First pick
Griffiths Park
Park or garden
6.9 ha
0.6 km south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Qyd · CC BY-SA 3.00.3%protected within 10 km
Outdoors in Edson · parks, protected land & trails
The nearest provincial park to Edson is Sundance Provincial Park, 15 km away
Out to 10 km from the town’s edge, 0.3% of the land is protected; 2.3% is typical for a Canadian town. The largest named area nearby is Yates Natural Area, 189 ha, 4.7 km away. The closest of Canada’s national parks is Jasper National Park, at 86 km.
Protected land
0.3%
of the land within 10 km
Typical Canadian town: 2.3%
Protected areas
1
within 10 km, 1 public
Typical Canadian town: 14
Nearest national park
86 km
Jasper National Park
Nearest provincial park
15 km
Sundance Provincial Park
Against other towns
Each figure for Edson, 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. Outdoors isn’t one of Canada’s graded subjects, so there’s no letter here: each figure is set against other Canadian towns instead.
Protected within 10 km0.3%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 areas1Areas 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
Edson sits 13th from last of 40 towns its size for protected land around it
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (8,511 to 8,873 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
Edson0.3%
Towns its size2.3%
Towns in Alberta0.4%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public protected areas
Edson1
Towns its size6
Towns in Alberta2
Typical Canadian town4
Walking routes
Edson0
Towns its size0
Towns in Alberta0
Typical Canadian town0
Against towns its size, Edson is weakest for protected land nearby: 27 of 39 have more.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hunt Club Park ON | 13% | 0% | 30 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | West Centretown ON | 11% | 0% | 36 | 5 | 5 |
| 3 | Nicolet QC | 11% | 8.5% | 19 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Craig Henry - Manordale ON | 10% | 0% | 24 | 1 | 5 |
| 5 | Pictou County, Subdivision C NS | 10% | 2.2% | 218 | 7 | 16 |
| 6 | Stone Mills ON | 10% | 11% | 58 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | Carleton Heights-Courtland Park ON | 10% | 8.3% | 37 | 1 | 4 |
| 8 | Wildfield ON | 9.1% | 14% | 23 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Delson QC | 6.1% | 0% | 17 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | Iqaluit NU | 6.1% | 11% | 2 | 0 | 12 |
| 11 | Lac la Biche County AB | 5.8% | 5.7% | 16 | 0 | 4 |
| 12 | Drummond/North Elmsley ON | 4.9% | 5.4% | 22 | 4 | 5 |
| 13 | Saint-Philippe QC | 4.2% | 0% | 17 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | Buckingham Heights BC | 4.2% | 1.4% | 34 | 3 | 8 |
| 15 | Heart Lake North ON | 3.9% | 43% | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| 16 | Trail BC | 3.5% | 0% | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| 17 | Manotick ON | 2.9% | 6.1% | 18 | 0 | 3 |
| 18 | Pioneer Park ON | 2.5% | 0.4% | 23 | 2 | 0 |
| 19 | Stanley Park ON | 2.5% | 5.9% | 22 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | Electoral Area F, Nanaimo BC | 2.3% | 3.7% | 36 | 1 | 15 |
| 21 | Prairie View SK | 2.3% | 0% | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Puslinch ON | 2.2% | 1.1% | 29 | 18 | 5 |
| 23 | Renfrew ON | 1.9% | 0% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Uplands ON | 1.5% | 0% | 12 | 2 | 0 |
| 25 | Crestview MB | 1% | 0% | 9 | 1 | 37 |
| 26 | Munroe East MB | 0.5% | 0% | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Lac-Beauport QC | 0.4% | 0.1% | 10 | 4 | 2 |
| 28 | Edson AB | 0.3% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Canterbury Park MB | 0.3% | 0% | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Strathcona Park AB | 0.3% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 31 | Tavistock ON | 0.2% | 0% | 9 | 3 | 2 |
| 32 | St. Adolphe MB | 0.2% | 0.2% | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Wild Rose AB | 0.2% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 34 | Hanover ON | 0.1% | 1.1% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Innisfail AB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| 36 | DT Cooksville ON | 0.1% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 37 | Nolan Hill AB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Kapuskasing ON | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Dauphin MB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Dalhousie AB | 0% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 2 |
The map
Edson on the map: green space, protected land and paths
The town’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 Edson
The biggest is Griffiths Park, 6.9 ha. Biggest first, numbered as on the map.
6 named parks and woods, 17 ha in all
Parks & gardens 17 ha
Two places, Griffiths Park and Centennial Park, make up 60% of the total.
Centennial Park
Park or garden
3.1 ha0.3 km of path
1.0 km southfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Millenium Park
Park or garden
0.6 ha0.3 km of path
Centralin the middle of Edson
Directionsto a point inside
Bike Park
Park or garden
0.8 ha0.1 km of path
0.8 km south-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
7 in 10 people in Edson 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 (67%)Further (33%)
Edson67%
Towns in Alberta100%
Typical Canadian town83%
That leaves about 2,800 people more than a short walk away. In the typical Canadian town the share is 83%, higher than here.
Protected areas
Edson has 1 protected area within 10 km
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
Inside Edson0%
Within 10 km0.3%
Towns in Alberta0.4%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
It belongs to a government.
Yates Natural AreaNature reserve · 189 ha · 4.7 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
86 km to Jasper National Park
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
Sundance Provincial Park
15 km west37 km²since 1999
National park
Jasper National Park
86 km south-west10,878 km²since 1907
A provincial park is closer: Sundance Provincial Park, at 15 km.
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
Footpaths and woods
Edson has 15 km of footpaths in and around it
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
15 km
in and around the town (57.9 km²)
Woodland
43%
about 24.7 km² of mapped woods
Footpaths · km per km²
EdsonTowns in AlbertaTypical Canadian town
Footpaths0.3
024 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
EdsonTowns in AlbertaTypical Canadian town
Woodland43%
0%50%100%
It has fewer paths per km² than 74% of Canadian towns. For woods, it beats 80% 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
OpenStreetMap shows no walking route near Edson
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 town. 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
Walking season in Edson: May and September
Daylight at the town’s latitude and ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals (Edson, 2.3 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) | -4 | -1 | 3 | 10 | 16 | 20 | 22 | 21 | 17 | 9 | 1 | -4 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 25 | 15 | 20 | 26 | 57 | 79 | 92 | 67 | 44 | 27 | 21 | 18 |
From -4 °C in December to 22 °C in July: that is the range of daytime highs. July is warm and wet, 92 mm; the driest month, February, has 15 mm. The climate in Edson →
Things to do
Near Edson: 6 outdoor spots on the map
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: 4 on the map.
Every named place, with directions
Playgrounds 4
Plus 4 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks 2
Plus 2 dog parks without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Next door
Next to Edson
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page. The nearest places to Edson with figures are 28–79 km away.
Yellowhead CountyHintonWhitecourtEdson
Under 1%1–5%5–15%15–40%40%+
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edson | 0.3% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Yellowhead County 28 km | 11% | 33 | 2 | 11 |
| Hinton 78 km | 0.9% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Whitecourt 79 km | 0.5% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
More routes are mapped around Yellowhead County (2). Yellowhead County has at least twice the protected share around it.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. Protected here means in CPCAD, Canada’s official list: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and other conserved land, measured within 10 km of the town’s edge.
- Private land. Private conservation land is in the totals, not the lists. Many such areas are easements on working farms or woodlots.
- National and provincial parks. National parks are Parks Canada’s; provincial parks are the province’s or territory’s, Québec’s parcs nationaux among them.
Questions about the outdoors in Edson
Is there a provincial park near Edson?
Sundance Provincial Park, 15 km from the edge of town.
When is the best time for walking in Edson?
May and September: long days, mild highs and little rain.
How far is Edson from a national park?
Jasper National Park is closest, at 86 km.
What is the largest protected area near Edson?
Yates Natural Area: 189 ha, a nature reserve.
How much land around Edson is protected?
Yes: 0.3% of the land within 10 km is protected.
Sources
The sources behind Edson’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.
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).