First pick
Lions Park
Park or garden
0.5 ha0.3 km of path
Centralin the middle of Swan Hills
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: awmcphee · CC BY-SA 4.0–Not graded
Outdoors in Swan Hills · parks, protected land & trails
Protected land is absent from the 10 km around Swan Hills
There is no national park within 100 km of the town. Grizzly Ridge Wildland Provincial Park is the closest provincial park, at 33 km.
Protected land
0%
of the land within 10 km
Typical Canadian town: 2.3%
Protected areas
0
within 10 km, 0 public
Typical Canadian town: 14
Nearest provincial park
33 km
Grizzly Ridge Wildland Provincial Park
Against other towns
Swan Hills against 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. Outdoors isn’t graded in Canada. The page compares each figure with other towns and leaves it there.
Protected within 10 km0%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
Swan Hills has the 2nd least protected land nearby of 40 towns its size
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (1,430 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
Swan Hills0%
Towns its size1.4%
Towns in Alberta0.4%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public protected areas
Swan Hills0
Towns its size3
Towns in Alberta2
Typical Canadian town4
Walking routes
Swan Hills0
Towns its size0
Towns in Alberta0
Typical Canadian town0
Against towns its size, Swan Hills 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 | Pembina MB | 1.1% | 1.8% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Burrows-Keewatin MB | 1% | 0% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Elmwood AB | 0.8% | 0% | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 25 | Hatley QC | 0.7% | 0% | 9 | 0 | 5 |
| 26 | Munroe West MB | 0.4% | 0% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Brooke-Alvinston ON | 0.3% | 0.2% | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Rosedale AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 29 | Minchau AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 30 | Lunenburg NS | 0.1% | 0% | 19 | 0 | 5 |
| 31 | Salisbury NB | 0.1% | 2.1% | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Dufferin MB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Ekota AB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 34 | Satoo AB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 35 | Saint-Éphrem-de-Beauce QC | 0% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 36 | Magrath AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Nanton AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Rimbey AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Swan Hills AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Sexsmith AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The map
The green map of Swan Hills
Green space, woods, protected areas and footpaths in and around the town; 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
One park or wood to walk in, in or near Swan Hills
Largest first: Lions Park leads with 0.5 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
2 in 10 people in Swan Hills 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 (21%)Further (80%)
Swan Hills21%
Towns in Alberta100%
Typical Canadian town83%
That leaves about 1,100 people more than a short walk away. That is below the typical Canadian town (83%).
Protected areas
No protected area lies within 10 km of Swan Hills
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
The nearest provincial park is Grizzly Ridge Wildland Provincial Park, 33 km away.
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
Grizzly Ridge Wildland Provincial Park, 33 km off
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
Grizzly Ridge Wildland Provincial Park
33 km north-east107 km²since 1999
There is no national park within 100 km; for big parks, Swan Hills 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
Swan Hills has 1 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
0.8 km
in and around the town (48.8 km²)
Woodland
90%
about 43.9 km² of mapped woods
Footpaths · km per km²
Swan HillsTowns in AlbertaTypical Canadian town
Footpaths0
024 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
Swan HillsTowns in AlbertaTypical Canadian town
Woodland90%
0%50%100%
Woods cover more of it than in 99% of Canadian towns. It has fewer paths per km² than 97% 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 mapped walking route near Swan Hills
Named walking and hiking routes on OpenStreetMap with at least 300 m within 2 km of the town, longest first; national routes lead.
No named route shows within 2 km of the town; volunteers map trails unevenly from one region to the next.
Source: OpenStreetMap (route relations hiking, foot and walking), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Trans Canada Trail sections as OSM maps them.
When to get out
Swan Hills is best on foot in May, August and September
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals from Whitecourt (69 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) | 7.8 | 9.6 | 11.7 | 14.0 | 16.1 | 17.3 | 16.8 | 14.9 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.3 | 7.3 |
| High (°C) | -7 | -3 | 2 | 10 | 16 | 20 | 22 | 21 | 16 | 9 | -1 | -6 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 26 | 15 | 21 | 30 | 61 | 90 | 104 | 62 | 38 | 28 | 24 | 22 |
July brings both the warmest days and the most rain (104 mm); February is driest (15 mm). Daytime highs run from -7 °C in January up to 22 °C in July. The climate in Swan Hills →
Things to do
Near Swan Hills: 10 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.
10 playgrounds top the list.
Every named place, with directions
Playgrounds 10
Plus 10 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Next door
Next to Swan Hills
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page. Swan Hills has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 66–74 km out.
WhitecourtWoodlands CountySlave LakeSwan Hills
Under 1%1–5%5–15%15–40%40%+
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swan Hills | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Whitecourt 66 km | 0.5% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Woodlands County 68 km | 1.8% | 25 | 0 | 0 |
| Slave Lake 74 km | 2.1% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
For protected land, Woodlands County and Slave Lake have twice as much or more.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- National and provincial parks. The nearest national park and the nearest provincial park are always shown when they are within 100 km.
- 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. Only named route relations count; a park’s own path network may not show unless it is mapped as a route.
- Protected land. CPCAD maps each protected area; the page counts how much of the 10 km around the town they cover, lakes and sea included.
Questions about the outdoors in Swan Hills
What is the best season to get outdoors in Swan Hills?
May, August and September: long days, mild highs and little rain.
How far is the nearest provincial park from Swan Hills?
The closest is Grizzly Ridge Wildland Provincial Park, at 33 km.
What is the nearest national park to Swan Hills?
None within 100 km of Swan Hills.
Sources
The sources behind Swan Hills’ 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).