Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: waferboard · CC BY 2.0The nearest national park is more than 100 km away. 12 areas within 10 km are protected for nature. Of the country within 10 km, 2.4% lies in protected areas; the median Canadian town has 2.3%.
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. No letter: the outdoors is described for Canadian towns, not graded.
CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC, 2026), OpenStreetMap (November 2026). Distances from the town’s outline.
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (22,055 to 23,392 residents), by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected. Hover for each one’s figures; click for its page.
Where Cranbrook trails its peers is walking routes; 23 of 39 have more.
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colwood BC | 19% | 2.3% | 36 | 4 | 21 |
| 2 | Saint-Lazare QC | 13% | 0% | 42 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | Westmount NS | 11% | 4.8% | 16 | 6 | 18 |
| 4 | Snowdon QC | 10% | 0% | 24 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Berczy Village ON | 9.3% | 0% | 17 | 1 | 1 |
| 6 | Saint-Lambert QC | 8.1% | 0.4% | 31 | 0 | 6 |
| 7 | Mont-Royal QC | 7.5% | 0% | 29 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Heights BC | 6.7% | 0% | 11 | 3 | 52 |
| 9 | Du College/Hodge QC | 6% | 0% | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Rivière-Blanche QC | 5.8% | 8.1% | 45 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | Uxbridge ON | 4.8% | 5.1% | 25 | 2 | 1 |
| 12 | Cité-Universitaire QC | 4.1% | 0% | 20 | 1 | 5 |
| 13 | Brentwood BC | 4% | 0% | 12 | 2 | 29 |
| 14 | Riverview NB | 2.7% | 2.3% | 10 | 1 | 1 |
| 15 | South Eglinton-Davisville ON | 2.7% | 0% | 13 | 2 | 1 |
| 16 | Eglinton East ON | 2.6% | 0% | 17 | 0 | 5 |
| 17 | Birchcliffe-Cliffside ON | 2.5% | 0% | 14 | 2 | 19 |
| 18 | Cranbrook BC | 2.4% | 0% | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Flemingdon Park ON | 2.4% | 17% | 13 | 0 | 1 |
| 20 | Church-Wellesley ON | 2.3% | 0% | 11 | 9 | 20 |
| 21 | East End-Danforth ON | 2.2% | 0% | 13 | 3 | 24 |
| 22 | Moss Park ON | 2.2% | 0% | 10 | 9 | 43 |
| 23 | Renfrew-Collingwood BC | 2.2% | 0.7% | 12 | 4 | 28 |
| 24 | Sainte-Lucie QC | 2% | 0% | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Steeles ON | 1.9% | 0% | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Bayview Village ON | 1.7% | 16% | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Bedford Park-Nortown ON | 1.4% | 0% | 14 | 2 | 0 |
| 28 | Joliette QC | 1.2% | 0.8% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Red Deer County AB | 1.1% | 1.1% | 76 | 1 | 60 |
| 30 | High Park-Swansea ON | 0.9% | 5% | 9 | 4 | 17 |
| 31 | Binbrook ON | 0.9% | 0.2% | 22 | 2 | 1 |
| 32 | Ouest (Montréal-Nord) QC | 0.8% | 0% | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Willowridge-Martingrove-Richview ON | 0.7% | 0% | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| 34 | High Park North ON | 0.6% | 0% | 10 | 4 | 15 |
| 35 | New Hamburg ON | 0.4% | 0% | 18 | 3 | 1 |
| 36 | Humber Bay Shores ON | 0.3% | 0% | 6 | 3 | 18 |
| 37 | Rockcliffe-Smythe ON | 0.3% | 0% | 9 | 1 | 8 |
| 38 | Erindale ON | 0.2% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| 39 | Cobourg ON | 0.1% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 40 | Yellowknife NT | 0% | 0% | 0 | 7 | 4 |
The town’s parks, woods, protected land and paths, with its named places numbered.
Largest first: Cranbrook Community Forest Recreation Site leads with 2,184 ha. Numbers match the map.
Add Cranbrook Community Forest Recreation Site to Moir Park and you have 98% of it.
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.
For comparison, the typical Canadian town has 83%. Around 9,000 residents are further than 400 m from a park.
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
2 of the 12 are on public land. Another 10 are privately owned conservation land; they count in the figures but aren’t named, as private land isn’t a place to visit.
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 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.
Canada’s national parks are all more than 100 km from Cranbrook, so the parks here are provincial.
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).
Paths are denser here than in 50% of Canadian towns. Woods cover more of it than in 87% 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.
OpenStreetMap has no named walking route within 2 km of the town. Trails may exist without being mapped as routes.
Source: OpenStreetMap (route relations hiking, foot and walking), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Trans Canada Trail sections as OSM maps them.
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals from Cranbrook (11 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) | 8.6 | 10.0 | 11.7 | 13.7 | 15.3 | 16.3 | 15.9 | 14.4 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.0 | 8.2 |
| High (°C) | -2 | 2 | 7 | 13 | 18 | 22 | 27 | 27 | 20 | 11 | 3 | -3 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 27 | 20 | 27 | 23 | 42 | 62 | 35 | 24 | 30 | 26 | 35 | 35 |
The wettest month, June, brings 62 mm, against 20 mm in February. The warmest days come in July (27 °C highs), the coldest in December (-3 °C). Winter brings about 133 cm of snow. The climate in Cranbrook →
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
Plus 1 viewpoint 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. No closer places have figures: these lie 4–37 km from Cranbrook.
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cranbrook | 2.4% | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| Electoral Area C, East Kootenay 4.4 km | 2.3% | 32 | 0 | 0 |
| Kimberley 24 km | 1.5% | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Electoral Area E, East Kootenay 34 km | 13% | 37 | 0 | 2 |
| Electoral Area B, East Kootenay 37 km | 10% | 20 | 0 | 1 |
Electoral Area E, East Kootenay and Electoral Area B, East Kootenay have at least twice the protected share around them.
Jimsmith Lake Park, 3.3 km away.
May to September: long days, mild highs and little rain.
Jimsmith Lake Park, a provincial park of 14 ha.
The nearest national park is more than 100 km from Cranbrook.
Protected areas cover 2.4% of the land within 10 km.
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).