First pick
Harry Watson Memorial Park
Park or garden
5.5 ha0.3 km of path
Centralin the middle of Picture Butte
Walk on the Wild Side trail
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Tracklan2 · CC01.3%protected within 10 km
Outdoors in Picture Butte · parks, protected land & trails
The nearest provincial park to Picture Butte is Willow Creek Provincial Park, 74 km away
One protected area lies within 10 km. No national park lies within 100 km. Within 10 km of the town, 1.3% of the land is protected, against 2.3% around a typical Canadian town.
Protected land
1.3%
of the land within 10 km
Typical Canadian town: 2.3%
Protected areas
1
within 10 km, 0 public
Typical Canadian town: 14
Nearest provincial park
74 km
Willow Creek Provincial Park
Against other towns
How Picture Butte compares with 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. Canada’s grades don’t include the outdoors, so this page compares the figures rather than grading them.
Protected within 10 km1.3%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 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
Picture Butte has the 19th least protected land nearby of 40 towns its size
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (2,380 to 2,587 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
Picture Butte1.3%
Towns its size1.4%
Towns in Alberta0.4%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public protected areas
Picture Butte0
Towns its size3
Towns in Alberta2
Typical Canadian town4
Walking routes
Picture Butte0
Towns its size0
Towns in Alberta0
Typical Canadian town0
Against towns its size, Picture Butte is weakest for public protected areas: 33 of 39 have more.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anmore BC | 22% | 47% | 16 | 5 | 98 |
| 2 | Saint-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska QC | 19% | 0% | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Gracefield QC | 19% | 19% | 34 | 0 | 6 |
| 4 | East Preston NS | 16% | 6.3% | 20 | 1 | 5 |
| 5 | Clearwater BC | 7.7% | 4.1% | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | Roberval QC | 6.1% | 1.2% | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague QC | 5.8% | 0% | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | North Frontenac ON | 5.7% | 5.2% | 13 | 6 | 4 |
| 9 | Cap-Chat QC | 5.3% | 0.4% | 13 | 0 | 10 |
| 10 | Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards ON | 4.4% | 1.5% | 9 | 0 | 4 |
| 11 | Saint-Polycarpe QC | 4.2% | 0% | 11 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | Macassa ON | 4.1% | 0% | 18 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | Saint-Damien QC | 4% | 3.2% | 22 | 1 | 9 |
| 14 | Unity SK | 3.4% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Sherwood ON | 3.4% | 0% | 19 | 2 | 0 |
| 16 | McNab SK | 2.6% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | Mandeville QC | 2.5% | 1.8% | 19 | 4 | 7 |
| 18 | Esterhazy SK | 1.8% | 0% | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | City Commercial Core ON | 1.8% | 0% | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Caswell Hill SK | 1.4% | 0% | 16 | 0 | 3 |
| 21 | Fossambault-sur-le-Lac QC | 1.3% | 7.8% | 15 | 0 | 14 |
| 22 | Picture Butte AB | 1.3% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Pembina MB | 1.1% | 1.8% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Burrows-Keewatin MB | 1% | 0% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Elmwood AB | 0.8% | 0% | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 26 | Hatley QC | 0.7% | 0% | 9 | 0 | 5 |
| 27 | Munroe West MB | 0.4% | 0% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Brooke-Alvinston ON | 0.3% | 0.2% | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Rosedale AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 30 | Minchau AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 31 | Lunenburg NS | 0.1% | 0% | 19 | 0 | 5 |
| 32 | Salisbury NB | 0.1% | 2.1% | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Dufferin MB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Ekota AB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 35 | Satoo AB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 36 | Saint-Éphrem-de-Beauce QC | 0% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 37 | Magrath AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Nanton AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Rimbey AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Sexsmith AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The map
Picture Butte 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
2 parks and woods to walk in, in or near Picture Butte
Largest first: Harry Watson Memorial Park leads with 5.5 ha. Numbers match the map.
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
In Picture Butte, a park is close to every home
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 (100%)Further (0%)
Picture Butte100%
Towns in Alberta100%
Typical Canadian town83%
For comparison, the median Canadian town has 83%.
Protected areas
1.3% of the land around Picture Butte 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 Picture Butte0%
Within 10 km1.3%
Towns in Alberta0.4%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
It is private land, held by a landowner or a conservation group, so it is counted here but not named.
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
74 km to Willow Creek Provincial 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
Willow Creek Provincial Park
74 km west0.8 km²since 1957
There is no national park within 100 km; for big parks, Picture Butte has its province’s.
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
Footpaths and woods
3 km of paths in and around Picture Butte
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
2.8 km
in and around the town (15.1 km²)
Woodland
0%
of the town and 1 km around it
Footpaths · km per km²
Picture ButteTowns in AlbertaTypical Canadian town
Footpaths0.2
024 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
Picture ButteTowns in AlbertaTypical Canadian town
Woodland0%
0%50%100%
It has fewer paths per km² than 78% 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
No named walking route passes Picture Butte 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.
Nothing near the town is mapped as a named walking route, which often means the trails just haven’t been entered as routes.
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 Picture Butte: May and July to September
Daylight at the town’s latitude and ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals (Lethbridge, 27 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) | 8.5 | 10.0 | 11.7 | 13.7 | 15.4 | 16.3 | 15.9 | 14.4 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 9.0 | 8.1 |
| High (°C) | 0 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 18 | 22 | 26 | 26 | 21 | 13 | 6 | 1 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 11 | 10 | 17 | 28 | 57 | 93 | 40 | 33 | 32 | 24 | 16 | 12 |
Snowfall averages 108 cm a year. Daytime highs run from 0 °C in January up to 26 °C in July. The wettest month, June, brings 93 mm, against 10 mm in February. The climate in Picture Butte →
Things to do
2 things to do outdoors near Picture Butte
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
Every named place, with directions
Campsites 2
Picture Butte Campgroundin town
DirectionsCountryside RV Park2.0 km from town
DirectionsSource: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Next door
Next to Picture Butte
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page.
Lethbridge CountyCoalhurstPicture Butte
Under 1%1–5%5–15%15–40%40%+
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Picture Butte | 1.3% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Lethbridge County 3.8 km | 0.1% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Coalhurst 18 km | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
No place nearby has double Picture Butte’s share of protected land.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Private land. Areas held by land trusts or private owners stay unnamed here, though they count in the shares.
- Walking routes. Only named route relations count; a park’s own path network may not show unless it is mapped as a route.
- 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. 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 Picture Butte
How far is Picture Butte from a national park?
None within 100 km of Picture Butte.
Is there protected land near Picture Butte?
Within 10 km, 1.3% of the land lies in protected areas.
What is the best season to get outdoors in Picture Butte?
May and July to September, on the 1991–2020 normals and the daylight: long days, highs of 15 °C or more, light rain for the place.
Is there a provincial park near Picture Butte?
Willow Creek Provincial Park, 74 km away.
Sources
Sources for this page on Picture Butte
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).