First pick
Toboggan Hill Park
Park or garden
19 ha3.1 km of path
40 minto walk all 3.1 km of path
0.6 km south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: jasonwoodhead23 · CC BY 2.01.4%protected within 10 km
Outdoors in Fort St. John · parks, protected land & trails
The nearest provincial park, Beatton Park, is 5.3 km from Fort St. John
The nearest national park is more than 100 km away. Out to 10 km from the town’s edge, 1.4% of the land is protected; 2.3% is typical for a Canadian town. Within 10 km are 9 protected areas.
Protected land
1.4%
of the land within 10 km
Typical Canadian town: 2.3%
Protected areas
9
within 10 km, 3 public
Typical Canadian town: 14
Nearest provincial park
5.3 km
Beatton Park
Against other towns
How Fort St. John 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. Outdoors isn’t graded in Canada. The page compares each figure with other towns and leaves it there.
Protected within 10 km1.4%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 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
Fort St. John sits 12th from last of 40 towns its size for protected land around it
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (23,355 to 25,494 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
Fort St. John1.4%
Towns its size2.8%
Towns in British Columbia6.7%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public protected areas
Fort St. John3
Towns its size5
Towns in British Columbia14
Typical Canadian town4
Walking routes
Fort St. John0
Towns its size0
Towns in British Columbia1
Typical Canadian town0
For protected land nearby, Fort St. John lags towns its size: 28 of 39 are ahead.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sept-Îles QC | 24% | 33% | 64 | 0 | 15 |
| 2 | White Rock BC | 22% | 0.2% | 101 | 2 | 4 |
| 3 | Brownsville BC | 11% | 1.3% | 119 | 7 | 6 |
| 4 | L'Assomption QC | 8.5% | 0.4% | 40 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Saint-Lambert QC | 8.1% | 0.4% | 31 | 0 | 6 |
| 6 | Old Barrhaven East ON | 6.9% | 0% | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Riley Park BC | 6.2% | 0% | 14 | 2 | 48 |
| 8 | Outremont QC | 5.9% | 0.1% | 24 | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | Candiac QC | 5.8% | 0% | 17 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | Morningside Heights ON | 5.7% | 4.1% | 16 | 0 | 6 |
| 11 | Cartierville QC | 5.6% | 19% | 27 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | Kingston NS | 4.8% | 3.1% | 30 | 1 | 5 |
| 13 | Mile End QC | 4.5% | 0% | 18 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | Milliken ON | 4.4% | 0% | 19 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | Waterdown ON | 4.4% | 4.9% | 25 | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | Springwater ON | 3.8% | 6.9% | 14 | 1 | 17 |
| 17 | Beloeil QC | 3.6% | 0% | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Agincourt South-Malvern West ON | 3.5% | 0% | 21 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Sheldon ON | 3.1% | 0.3% | 26 | 3 | 1 |
| 20 | Port Perry ON | 2.9% | 2% | 32 | 1 | 1 |
| 21 | South Eglinton-Davisville ON | 2.7% | 0% | 13 | 2 | 1 |
| 22 | Dorset Park ON | 2.5% | 0% | 16 | 0 | 1 |
| 23 | West London ON | 2.4% | 0% | 16 | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | Renfrew-Collingwood BC | 2.2% | 0.7% | 12 | 4 | 28 |
| 25 | Brockville ON | 1.9% | 3.1% | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| 26 | Huntsville ON | 1.8% | 2.2% | 7 | 2 | 13 |
| 27 | Junction-Wallace Emerson ON | 1.8% | 0% | 11 | 4 | 13 |
| 28 | Newtonbrook West ON | 1.7% | 0% | 21 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Fort St. John BC | 1.4% | 0% | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Owen Sound ON | 1.3% | 0.2% | 33 | 2 | 12 |
| 31 | Sault-au-Récollet QC | 1.3% | 0% | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Mount Pearl NL | 1.2% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 33 | Embrun ON | 0.8% | 0% | 10 | 0 | 1 |
| 34 | Ouest (Montréal-Nord) QC | 0.8% | 0% | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Oro-Medonte ON | 0.6% | 0.6% | 32 | 4 | 18 |
| 36 | Islington ON | 0.2% | 0% | 4 | 1 | 9 |
| 37 | Kingsville ON | 0.1% | 0% | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 38 | Essex ON | 0.1% | 0.5% | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 39 | Etobicoke City Centre ON | 0.1% | 0% | 4 | 1 | 17 |
| 40 | Panorama Hills AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The map
The green map of Fort St. John
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
26 named parks and woods to walk in near Fort St. John
The biggest is Toboggan Hill Park, 19 ha. Biggest first, numbered as on the map.
26 named parks and woods, 74 ha in all
Parks & gardens 74 ha
Two places, Toboggan Hill Park and Surerus Park, make up 49% of the total.
Surerus Park
Park or garden
17 ha2.8 km of path
35 minto walk all 2.8 km of path
0.9 km north-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Kin Park
Park or garden
14 ha2.6 km of path
35 minto walk all 2.6 km of path
1.9 km northfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Mathews Park
Park or garden
4.0 ha0.9 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.9 km of path
1.3 km southfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Centennial Park
Park or garden
3.3 ha1.2 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.2 km of path
0.9 km south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Off Leash Dog Park
Park or garden
2.9 ha0.6 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.6 km of path
Centralin the middle of Fort St. John
Directionsto a point inside
Westridge Park
Park or garden
1.7 ha0.4 km of path
2.6 km north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Duncan Cran Park
Park or garden
1.4 ha0.3 km of path
1.9 km south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
All 26 named parks and green spaces
Toboggan Hill ParkPark or garden · 19 ha · 3.1 km of path
DirectionsSurerus ParkPark or garden · 17 ha · 2.8 km of path
DirectionsKin ParkPark or garden · 14 ha · 2.6 km of path
DirectionsMathews ParkPark or garden · 4.0 ha · 0.9 km of path
DirectionsCentennial ParkPark or garden · 3.3 ha · 1.2 km of path
DirectionsOff Leash Dog ParkPark or garden · 2.9 ha · 0.6 km of path
DirectionsWestridge ParkPark or garden · 1.7 ha · 0.4 km of path
DirectionsDuncan Cran ParkPark or garden · 1.4 ha · 0.3 km of path
DirectionsSunset Ridge ParkPark or garden · 1.4 ha · 0.3 km of path
DirectionsGarrison ParkPark or garden · 1.1 ha · 0.3 km of path
DirectionsStation ParkPark or garden · 1.1 ha · 0.3 km of path
DirectionsW. I. Centennial ParkPark or garden · 1.0 ha
DirectionsEstates ParkPark or garden · 0.9 ha
DirectionsConcord ParkPark or garden · 0.7 ha
DirectionsOff Leash Dog Park (Small & medium dogs only)Park or garden · 0.6 ha
DirectionsPrincess Crescent ParkPark or garden · 0.5 ha
DirectionsChiulli TrianglePark or garden · 0.3 ha
DirectionsPanorama ParkPark or garden · 0.4 ha
DirectionsEnergy ParkPark or garden · 0.4 ha
DirectionsTot Lot ParkPark or garden · 0.4 ha
DirectionsPickell ParkPark or garden · 0.3 ha
DirectionsPark Lane ParkPark or garden · 0.3 ha
DirectionsTriangle ParkPark or garden · 0.3 ha
DirectionsKerney ParkPark or garden · 0.2 ha
DirectionsFSJ Community GardenPark or garden · 0.3 ha
DirectionsWay-Loe Subdivision ParkPark or garden · 0.2 ha
DirectionsSource: 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
A park is within a short walk for 8 in 10 in Fort St. John
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 (84%)Further (16%)
Fort St. John84%
Towns in British Columbia72%
Typical Canadian town83%
For about 4,000 people, the nearest park is over 400 m away. That beats the typical Canadian town, where it is 83%.
Protected areas
1.4% of the land around Fort St. John 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 Fort St. John0%
Within 10 km1.4%
Towns in British Columbia6.7%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public bodies own 3 of the 9; land trusts and private owners hold the others. Beatton Park is the biggest, 330 ha. Another 6 are privately owned conservation land; they count in the figures but aren’t named, as private land isn’t a place to visit.
Beatton ParkProvincial park · 330 ha · 5.3 km from the edge of town
Charlie Lake ParkProvincial park · 176 ha · 6.1 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
The nearest big park: Beatton Park, 5.3 km away
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
Beatton Park
5.3 km north-west3.3 km²since 1934
Provincial park
Charlie Lake Park
6.1 km north-west1.8 km²since 1964
No national park lies within 100 km of Fort St. John; the provincial parks are the big protected land within reach. 2 provincial parks lie 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
Fort St. John has 54 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
54 km
in and around the town (71.9 km²)
Woodland
19%
about 14 km² of mapped woods
Footpaths · km per km²
Fort St. JohnTowns in British ColumbiaTypical Canadian town
Footpaths0.8
012 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
Fort St. JohnTowns in British ColumbiaTypical Canadian town
Woodland19%
0%50%100%
Paths are thinner on the ground than in 61% of Canadian towns. For woods, it beats 66% 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 Fort St. John 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.
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.
When to get out
Get out in Fort St. John in May, August and September
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals from Fort ST. John (5.9 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) | 7.5 | 9.5 | 11.6 | 14.1 | 16.3 | 17.6 | 17.1 | 15.1 | 12.6 | 10.3 | 8.1 | 6.9 |
| High (°C) | -9 | -5 | -1 | 9 | 16 | 20 | 22 | 21 | 16 | 8 | -2 | -7 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 28 | 21 | 27 | 21 | 34 | 75 | 77 | 48 | 42 | 33 | 35 | 24 |
From -9 °C in January to 22 °C in July: that is the range of daytime highs. The wettest month is the warmest, July (77 mm); April has 21 mm. The yearly snowfall is near 206 cm. The climate in Fort St. John →
Things to do
A viewpoint near Fort St. John
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
There are 38 playgrounds, more than of anything else.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 1
Peace River Lookout0.7 km from town
DirectionsPicnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 38
Centennial Park Playgroundin town
DirectionsKin Park Playground (Southwest)in town
DirectionsKin Park Playground (West)in town
DirectionsKin Park Pump Trackin town
DirectionsPlus 34 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks 5
Off Leash Dog Parkin town
DirectionsOff Leash Dog Park (Small & medium dogs only)in town
DirectionsOff Leash Dog Park (Small dogs only)in town
DirectionsPark Lane Parkin town
DirectionsPlus 1 dog park without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Next door
Next to Fort St. John
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page.
Electoral Area C, Peace RiverTaylorFort St. John
Under 1%1–5%5–15%15–40%40%+
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort St. John | 1.4% | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Electoral Area C, Peace River 4.4 km | 1.9% | 14 | 0 | 2 |
| Taylor 13 km | 0.3% | 1 | 0 | 1 |
None of the places nearby has twice as much protected land around it as Fort St. John.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- National and provincial parks. A park at 0 km touches or overlaps the town’s outline; directions point from the town’s centre.
- Walking routes. Routes are what OpenStreetMap’s volunteers have mapped as named walking or hiking routes; many good trails aren’t mapped that way.
- Protected land. Measured on CPCAD’s outlines: the part of a 10 km band around the town that lies in a protected or conserved area, water included.
- Private land. CPCAD includes conservation land held privately; the page counts it and leaves the names out.
Questions about the outdoors in Fort St. John
Is there protected land near Fort St. John?
Protected areas cover 1.4% of the land within 10 km.
What is the nearest national park to Fort St. John?
The nearest national park is more than 100 km from Fort St. John.
What is the best season to get outdoors in Fort St. John?
May, August and September, on the 1991–2020 normals and the daylight: long days, highs of 15 °C or more, light rain for the place.
How far is the nearest provincial park from Fort St. John?
Beatton Park, 5.3 km away.
Which is the biggest protected area near Fort St. John?
Beatton Park: 330 ha, a provincial park.
Sources
Where Fort St. John’s outdoors figures come from
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).