First pick
George Lane Park
Park or garden
17 ha1.5 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.5 km of path
0.8 km westfrom the centre
Happy Trails
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Connorbrown22 · CC BY-SA 4.00.6%protected within 10 km
Outdoors in High River · parks, protected land & trails
High River has 0.6% protected land within 10 km
5 areas within 10 km are protected for nature. National parks are all over 100 km off. Fish Creek Provincial Park is the closest provincial park, at 31 km.
Protected land
0.6%
of the land within 10 km
Typical Canadian town: 2.3%
Protected areas
5
within 10 km, 0 public
Typical Canadian town: 14
Nearest provincial park
31 km
Fish Creek Provincial Park
Against other towns
Each figure for High River, 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. There is no Outdoors grade for Canadian towns; the figures stand beside the country’s towns of 2,500+ without a letter.
Protected within 10 km0.6%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 areas0Areas 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
Among 40 towns its size, High River is 8th from the bottom for protected land
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (15,194 to 15,792 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
High River0.6%
Towns its size2.4%
Towns in Alberta0.4%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public protected areas
High River0
Towns its size7
Towns in Alberta2
Typical Canadian town4
Walking routes
High River0
Towns its size0
Towns in Alberta0
Typical Canadian town0
Where High River trails its peers is public protected areas; 37 of 39 have more.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pincourt QC | 33% | 0.6% | 38 | 0 | 4 |
| 2 | Lachine-Ouest QC | 19% | 0.1% | 28 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | Beauharnois QC | 17% | 2.2% | 32 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Gaspé QC | 13% | 21% | 41 | 13 | 51 |
| 5 | Ledbury-Heron Gate-Ridgemont ON | 12% | 0% | 34 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | Severn ON | 9.6% | 1.1% | 52 | 1 | 7 |
| 7 | Brookside - Briarbrook - Morgans Grant ON | 8.1% | 0% | 14 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | Vieux-Longueuil QC | 6.4% | 0% | 24 | 0 | 5 |
| 9 | Lougheed BC | 5.6% | 0% | 53 | 2 | 49 |
| 10 | Saint-François QC | 5.4% | 1% | 56 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Lairet QC | 5% | 0% | 15 | 0 | 4 |
| 12 | Sainte-Adèle QC | 4.8% | 8% | 24 | 1 | 5 |
| 13 | Jésuites QC | 4.6% | 0% | 17 | 1 | 6 |
| 14 | Parksville BC | 4.4% | 13% | 24 | 0 | 11 |
| 15 | Saint-Louis QC | 4.3% | 0% | 15 | 2 | 4 |
| 16 | Vallée-de-la-Lièvre QC | 4.3% | 16% | 39 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Downtown ON | 3.6% | 2.8% | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | Lachute QC | 3.5% | 0.9% | 27 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | François-Perrault QC | 2.6% | 0% | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Vanier ON | 2.6% | 0% | 22 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | Trinity-Bellwoods ON | 2.1% | 0% | 11 | 7 | 24 |
| 22 | Byron ON | 2.1% | 0% | 14 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | Pleasant View ON | 1.9% | 0% | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Little Portugal ON | 1.8% | 0% | 11 | 4 | 20 |
| 25 | East Willowdale ON | 1.7% | 0% | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Hamilton Road ON | 1.7% | 0% | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Stonebridge SK | 1.7% | 0% | 18 | 0 | 1 |
| 28 | Saint-Vincent-de-Paul QC | 1.5% | 0% | 23 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Parc-Jarry QC | 1.5% | 0% | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Loretteville QC | 1.1% | 0% | 21 | 1 | 2 |
| 31 | Pembroke ON | 1% | 0% | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| 32 | Dorchester ON | 0.6% | 1% | 17 | 2 | 2 |
| 33 | High River AB | 0.6% | 0% | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Thorncliffe AB | 0.3% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 35 | Central Elgin ON | 0.2% | 0.3% | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| 36 | Edenbridge-Humber Valley ON | 0.2% | 2.1% | 6 | 1 | 6 |
| 37 | Laurel AB | 0.2% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 38 | Sheridan ON | 0.1% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 39 | East Riverside ON | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 40 | Edgemont AB | 0% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 2 |
The map
Where the green is in High River
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
3 named parks and woods to walk in near High River
George Lane Park is the largest, at 17 ha; the rest follow by size, numbered as on the map.
Rotary Park
Park or garden
0.6 ha0.3 km of path
Centralin the middle of High River
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
A park is within a short walk for 8 in 10 in High River
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 (85%)Further (15%)
High River85%
Towns in Alberta100%
Typical Canadian town83%
About 2,300 residents live further than 400 m from one. That beats the typical Canadian town, where it is 83%.
Protected areas
High River has 5 protected areas 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 High River0%
Within 10 km0.6%
Towns in Alberta0.4%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Every one is privately held, and none is named: private land isn’t a place to visit.
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: Fish Creek Provincial Park, 31 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
31 km north14 km²since 1975
For a national park, people in High River travel more than 100 km.
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
Footpaths and woods
High River has 44 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
44 km
in and around the town (45.8 km²)
Woodland
0%
of the town and 1 km around it
Footpaths · km per km²
High RiverTowns in AlbertaTypical Canadian town
Footpaths1
024 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
High RiverTowns in AlbertaTypical Canadian town
Woodland0%
0%50%100%
For path density, 59% of Canadian towns do better.
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 High River 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.
OpenStreetMap lists no walking route near the town, though paths on the ground may well exist.
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 High River in May and July to September
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals from Calgary (Airport) (61 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) | 8.4 | 10.0 | 11.7 | 13.7 | 15.5 | 16.4 | 16.0 | 14.5 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.9 | 8.0 |
| 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 |
Expect 113 mm in June, the wettest month, and 10 mm in January. January brings highs of -2 °C, July highs of 24 °C. The climate in High River →
Things to do
15 things to do outdoors near High River
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
Count 15 playgrounds, the biggest group.
Every named place, with directions
Playgrounds 15
Plus 15 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Next door
Next to High River
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page. High River has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 17–28 km out.
OkotoksFoothills CountyNantonBlack DiamondHigh River
Under 1%1–5%5–15%15–40%40%+
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High River | 0.6% | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Okotoks 17 km | 0.2% | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Foothills County 23 km | 7.8% | 29 | 1 | 11 |
| Nanton 27 km | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Black Diamond 28 km | 0.7% | 7 | 0 | 0 |
Around Foothills County the protected share is at least double.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- Private land. Areas held by land trusts or private owners stay unnamed here, though they count in the shares.
- Walking routes. The list is OpenStreetMap’s, so a missing trail may just be unmapped. The Trans Canada Trail appears where OSM maps it.
- 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 High River
Is High River near a national park?
None within 100 km of High River.
When is the best time for walking in High River?
On the normals, May and July to September: that is when days are long, highs reach 15 °C and rain is light.
How far is the nearest provincial park from High River?
Fish Creek Provincial Park, 31 km from the edge of town.
Are there protected areas near High River?
Within 10 km, 0.6% of the land lies in protected areas.
Sources
Where High River’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.
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).