Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domain2.7 km out lies the largest, Churn Creek Protected Area, at 24,368 ha. Some protected land is inside the town: 17% of its area. There is no national park within 100 km of the town.
Each figure against Canadian towns of 2,500+; tap a tile for the detail.
Above all, Electoral Area E, Cariboo offers protected land around it, with a provincial park at its edge close behind.
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.
CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC, 2026), OpenStreetMap (November 2026). Distances from the town’s outline.
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (4,175 to 4,310 residents), by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected. Hover for each one’s figures; click for its page.
Electoral Area E, Cariboo beats most towns its size for protected land nearby; 4 of 39 do better.
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | La Pocatière QC | 35% | 0.2% | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | Electoral Area E, Central Kootenay BC | 26% | 31% | 24 | 2 | 14 |
| 3 | Anderson Walk BC | 23% | 8.2% | 180 | 8 | 4 |
| 4 | Electoral Area F, Central Kootenay BC | 22% | 2.9% | 13 | 2 | 12 |
| 5 | Electoral Area E, Cariboo BC | 16% | 17% | 10 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | Victoria County, Subdivision B NS | 12% | 17% | 244 | 1 | 21 |
| 7 | Westphal NS | 12% | 0.5% | 14 | 1 | 7 |
| 8 | Invermere BC | 10% | 13% | 8 | 0 | 3 |
| 9 | Red Lake ON | 10% | 1.1% | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 10 | Carleton-sur-Mer QC | 10% | 0.1% | 26 | 0 | 4 |
| 11 | Spring Valley ON | 6.4% | 0% | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | Sunrise Estates BC | 5.8% | 3.1% | 152 | 5 | 0 |
| 13 | Bruleville ON | 4.9% | 0% | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Grand Forks BC | 4.5% | 0.9% | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Port Hardy BC | 4.1% | 2.2% | 14 | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | Simonds NB | 3.9% | 12% | 12 | 0 | 17 |
| 17 | Electoral Area E, Sunshine Coast BC | 3.4% | 5.1% | 34 | 0 | 48 |
| 18 | Downtown SK | 3.2% | 39% | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 19 | Stellarton NS | 3.1% | 0% | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Ormstown QC | 2.9% | 1.6% | 16 | 0 | 2 |
| 21 | Richmond County, Subdivision A NS | 2.7% | 1.4% | 149 | 0 | 27 |
| 22 | Templemead ON | 2.3% | 0% | 15 | 2 | 0 |
| 23 | Vermilion AB | 1.5% | 9.3% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Lantzville BC | 1.5% | 0% | 19 | 0 | 8 |
| 25 | St. George MB | 1.5% | 0% | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Calder AB | 1.4% | 0% | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 27 | Tuxedo MB | 1.3% | 20% | 24 | 1 | 27 |
| 28 | Métabetchouan--Lac-à-la-Croix QC | 1% | 1% | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| 29 | Fraipont MB | 0.7% | 0% | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Discovery Ridge AB | 0.5% | 32% | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 31 | Wildwood AB | 0.5% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 32 | Callaghan AB | 0.3% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 33 | Jackson Heights AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 34 | East Angus QC | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 35 | Crabtree QC | 0.1% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | Saint-Ambroise QC | 0.1% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Napierville QC | 0% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Claresholm AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Mayliewan AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Ozerna AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Green space, woods, protected areas and footpaths in and around the town; tap a number for its park or wood.
Williams Lake River Valley Recreation Site is the largest, at 496 ha; the rest follow by size, numbered as on the map.
Williams Lake River Valley Recreation Site plus Chimney Lake North Recreation Site account for 93% of the green.
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.
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.
The typical Canadian town does better, at 83%. That leaves about 4,200 people more than a short walk away.
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
Governments hold 9 of the 10, and private owners the rest. At 24,368 ha, Churn Creek Protected Area is the largest. One more area within 10 km is private land, held by a landowner or a conservation group: counted here, not named.
2 areas recorded only by their type (provincial layers such as wildlife habitat areas) are 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 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.
There is no national park within 100 km; for big parks, Electoral Area E, Cariboo has its province’s. There are 4 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.
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).
It has fewer paths per km² than 86% of Canadian towns. It is more wooded than 94% 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.
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 walking or hiking route is mapped near the town; local paths may simply not be on OpenStreetMap as routes.
Source: OpenStreetMap (route relations hiking, foot and walking), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Trans Canada Trail sections as OSM maps them.
Daylight at the town’s latitude and ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals (Williams Lake, 12 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) | 8.2 | 9.8 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 15.7 | 16.7 | 16.3 | 14.6 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.7 | 7.8 |
| High (°C) | -3 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 16 | 20 | 23 | 23 | 17 | 10 | 2 | -3 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 37 | 19 | 20 | 22 | 42 | 66 | 57 | 43 | 37 | 41 | 42 | 38 |
The yearly snowfall is near 176 cm. From -3 °C in December to 23 °C in July: that is the range of daytime highs. Expect 66 mm in June, the wettest month, and 19 mm in February. The climate in Electoral Area E, Cariboo →
Beaches on OpenStreetMap within 5 km of the town’s edge, nearest first, with directions.
No open data on beach water quality covers every province, so check with public health before a swim.
Source: OpenStreetMap (natural=beach), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
Dog Creek Dome tops the hills nearby, 1,427 m. Campsites lead the count with 5.
Plus 4 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Plus 2 campsites without a name on the map.
Plus 1 slipway without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page.
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area E, Cariboo | 16% | 10 | 0 | 1 |
| Williams Lake 6.8 km | 14% | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Electoral Area D, Cariboo 13 km | 9.4% | 4 | 0 | 1 |
No place nearby has double Electoral Area E, Cariboo’s share of protected land.
The nearest national park is more than 100 km from Electoral Area E, Cariboo.
May to September: long days, mild highs and little rain.
Churn Creek Protected Area: 24,368 ha, a nature reserve.
There is an unnamed beach within 5 km.
Junction Sheep Range Park begins at the town’s edge.
Within 10 km, 16% of the land lies in protected areas.
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).