First pick
Boer Mountain Recreation Site
Park or garden · 230 m outside town
3,847 ha52.1 km of path
11 h 35 minto walk all 52.1 km of path
5.9 km north-eastfrom the centre
RazorbackPigasusHuff N Puff+5 paths
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Britcruise · CC BY-SA 3.04.7%protected within 10 km
Outdoors in Burns Lake · parks, protected land & trails
Dead Man's Island Park is 0.3 km from Burns Lake
4.7% of the land and water within 10 km is protected (the typical Canadian town: 2.3%). The nearest national park is more than 100 km away. The 10 km around town hold 3 protected areas.
Protected land
4.7%
of the land within 10 km
Typical Canadian town: 2.3%
Protected areas
3
within 10 km, 3 public
Typical Canadian town: 14
Nearest provincial park
0.3 km
Dead Man's Island Park
Against other towns
Burns Lake 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. 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 km4.7%Share of the land and water within 10 km of the town’s edge in a protected or conserved area
Protected in town0.5%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 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
Burns Lake comes 10th of 40 towns its size for protected land around it
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (2,007 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
Burns Lake4.7%
Towns its size1.6%
Towns in British Columbia6.7%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public protected areas
Burns Lake3
Towns its size3
Towns in British Columbia14
Typical Canadian town4
Walking routes
Burns Lake0
Towns its size0
Towns in British Columbia1
Typical Canadian town0
Burns Lake beats most towns its size for protected land nearby; 9 of 39 do better.
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 | Burns Lake BC | 4.7% | 0.5% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards ON | 4.4% | 1.5% | 9 | 0 | 4 |
| 12 | Saint-Polycarpe QC | 4.2% | 0% | 11 | 0 | 2 |
| 13 | Macassa ON | 4.1% | 0% | 18 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | Saint-Damien QC | 4% | 3.2% | 22 | 1 | 9 |
| 15 | Unity SK | 3.4% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Sherwood ON | 3.4% | 0% | 19 | 2 | 0 |
| 17 | McNab SK | 2.6% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 18 | Mandeville QC | 2.5% | 1.8% | 19 | 4 | 7 |
| 19 | Esterhazy SK | 1.8% | 0% | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | City Commercial Core ON | 1.8% | 0% | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Caswell Hill SK | 1.4% | 0% | 16 | 0 | 3 |
| 22 | Fossambault-sur-le-Lac QC | 1.3% | 7.8% | 15 | 0 | 14 |
| 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
Burns Lake on the map: green space, protected land and paths
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
Walk in Burns Lake: 5 named parks and woods
Boer Mountain Recreation Site is the largest, at 3,847 ha; the rest follow by size, numbered as on the map.
5 named parks and woods, 3,857 ha in all
Parks & gardens 3,857 ha
Between them, Boer Mountain Recreation Site and Bergen Park cover 100%.
Bergen Park
Park or garden
4.3 ha0.8 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.8 km of path
Centralin the middle of Burns Lake
Directionsto a point inside
Evaneshen Nature Trail
Park or garden
3.2 ha0.4 km of path
Centralin the middle of Burns Lake
Evaneshen Nature Trail
Directionsto a point inside
7th Avenue Green Space
Park or garden
1.1 ha
Centralin the middle of Burns Lake
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
About 7 in 10 of Burns Lake’s residents are a short walk from 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 (66%)Further (34%)
Burns Lake66%
Towns in British Columbia72%
Typical Canadian town83%
For comparison, the typical Canadian town has 83%. Around 700 residents are further than 400 m from a park.
Protected areas
4.7% of the land around Burns Lake 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 Burns Lake0.5%
Within 10 km4.7%
Towns in British Columbia6.7%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
None of the 3 is private. Burns Lake Park covers 65 ha, the most of any named area.
Dead Man's Island ParkProvincial park · 0.5 ha · 0.3 km from the edge of town
Burns Lake ParkProvincial park · 65 ha · 1.0 km from the edge of town
1 area recorded only by its type (a provincial layer such as wildlife habitat areas) is counted, not listed.
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
0.3 km to Dead Man's Island 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
Dead Man's Island Park
0.3 km south-east0.0 km²since 1933
Provincial park
Burns Lake Park
1.0 km south-east0.7 km²since 2001
Canada’s national parks are all more than 100 km from Burns Lake, so the parks here are provincial. There are 2 provincial parks within 10 km.
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
Footpaths and woods
Burns Lake and its edge hold 6 km of footpath
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
6.2 km
in and around the town (37.2 km²)
Woodland
62%
about 23.2 km² of mapped woods
Footpaths · km per km²
Burns LakeTowns in British ColumbiaTypical Canadian town
Footpaths0.2
012 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
Burns LakeTowns in British ColumbiaTypical Canadian town
Woodland62%
0%50%100%
79% of Canadian towns have more footpath per km². For woods, it beats 88% 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 Burns Lake 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.
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
Walking season in Burns Lake: May to September
Daylight at the town’s latitude and ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals (Smithers, 114 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) | 7.9 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 14.0 | 16.0 | 17.2 | 16.7 | 14.9 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.4 | 7.4 |
| High (°C) | -4 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 16 | 19 | 22 | 21 | 17 | 9 | 1 | -4 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 42 | 24 | 20 | 27 | 39 | 51 | 44 | 45 | 49 | 66 | 54 | 44 |
The wettest month, October, brings 66 mm, against 20 mm in March. Highs peak near 22 °C in July and fall to -4 °C in January. The climate in Burns Lake →
Things to do
A viewpoint near Burns Lake
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
Viewpoints 1
Plus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Nature reserves 2
Dead Man's Island Provincial Park0.4 km from town
DirectionsBurns Lake Provincial Park1.2 km from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 1
Plus 1 playground without a name on the map.
Dog parks 1
MacEwan Dog Parkin town
DirectionsSlipways 1
Plus 1 slipway without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Next door
Next to Burns Lake
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 Burns Lake with figures are 3–71 km away.
Electoral Area B, Bulkley-NechakoElectoral Area E, Bulkley-NechakoHoustonElectoral Area D, Bulkley-NechakoBurns Lake
Under 1%1–5%5–15%15–40%40%+
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burns Lake | 4.7% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Electoral Area B, Bulkley-Nechako 3.3 km | 6.2% | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| Electoral Area E, Bulkley-Nechako 28 km | 35% | 17 | 1 | 8 |
| Houston 61 km | 0% | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| Electoral Area D, Bulkley-Nechako 71 km | 3.7% | 16 | 0 | 1 |
For protected land, Electoral Area E, Bulkley-Nechako has twice as much or more.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- Walking routes. Only named route relations count; a park’s own path network may not show unless it is mapped as a route.
- Private land. Areas held by land trusts or private owners stay unnamed here, though they count in the shares.
- 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.
Questions about the outdoors in Burns Lake
What is the largest protected area near Burns Lake?
Burns Lake Park, a provincial park of 65 ha.
Are there protected areas near Burns Lake?
Yes: 4.7% of the land within 10 km is protected.
What is the nearest provincial park to Burns Lake?
The closest is Dead Man's Island Park, at 0.3 km.
How far is Burns Lake from a national park?
None within 100 km of Burns Lake.
When should you visit Burns Lake for the outdoors?
May to September, on the 1991–2020 normals and the daylight: long days, highs of 15 °C or more, light rain for the place.
Sources
Sources for this page on Burns Lake
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).