First pick
Brothers Park
Park or garden
2.7 ha
1.1 km north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Visit-World. com Author: www.visit-world.com · CC BY-SA 3.02.7%protected within 10 km
Outdoors in Gibsons · parks, protected land & trails
Gibsons has 39 public protected areas within 10 km
57 beaches are mapped within 5 km, the nearest Armours Beach. 1.7 km from town is Plumper Cove Marine Park, the nearest provincial park. For a national park, Gulf Islands National Park Reserve is 59 km away.
Protected land
2.7%
of the land within 10 km
Typical Canadian town: 2.3%
Protected areas
43
within 10 km, 39 public
Typical Canadian town: 14
Nearest national park
59 km
Gulf Islands National Park Reserve
Nearest provincial park
1.7 km
Plumper Cove Marine Park
Beaches
57
within 5 km (OpenStreetMap)
Character
What sets Gibsons apart outdoors
Each figure against Canadian towns of 2,500+; tap a tile for the detail.
Out of doors, Gibsons leads with its beaches, with the number of public protected areas close by close behind.
Against other towns
Gibsons beside other Canadian towns, figure by figure
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. This page carries no grade, because Canada’s grading doesn’t cover the outdoors; the comparisons are the point.
Protected within 10 km2.7%Share of the land and water within 10 km of the town’s edge in a protected or conserved area
Protected in town4.8%Share of the town’s own area in a protected or conserved area
Public protected areas39Areas within 10 km held by a government or an Indigenous nation
Walking routes0Named OpenStreetMap walking and hiking routes with 300 m+ within 2 km
Beaches57Beaches mapped on OpenStreetMap within 5 km
CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC, 2026), OpenStreetMap (November 2026). Distances from the town’s outline.
Towns its size
Gibsons comes 18th of 40 towns its size for protected land around it
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (5,016 to 5,174 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
Gibsons2.7%
Towns its size2.1%
Towns in British Columbia6.7%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public protected areas
Gibsons39
Towns its size13
Towns in British Columbia14
Typical Canadian town4
Walking routes
Gibsons0
Towns its size0
Towns in British Columbia1
Typical Canadian town0
For public protected areas, Gibsons sits near the top of its size group: 2 of 39 have more.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saint-Donat QC | 41% | 6.7% | 21 | 1 | 6 |
| 2 | Electoral Area F, Cariboo BC | 29% | 27% | 16 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley BC | 23% | 0.9% | 58 | 4 | 24 |
| 4 | Electoral Area D, Peace River BC | 19% | 18% | 56 | 3 | 123 |
| 5 | Inverness NS | 13% | 5.1% | 141 | 4 | 20 |
| 6 | Northern Bruce Peninsula ON | 11% | 30% | 97 | 2 | 13 |
| 7 | Starlight Village NB | 9.2% | 3.1% | 23 | 0 | 11 |
| 8 | Montréal-Est QC | 7.7% | 0.4% | 38 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | Lemoyne QC | 7.6% | 0% | 26 | 0 | 5 |
| 10 | Cobble Hill BC | 6.6% | 4.5% | 51 | 0 | 6 |
| 11 | Electoral Area C, North Okanagan BC | 6.1% | 19% | 7 | 0 | 3 |
| 12 | Webber Greens AB | 6.1% | 0% | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Nipawin SK | 4.1% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Heritage SK | 4% | 0% | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 15 | Annapolis County, Subdivision B NS | 3.9% | 0.9% | 44 | 0 | 4 |
| 16 | Rushdale ON | 3.9% | 0% | 18 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | Huntington ON | 2.9% | 0% | 19 | 3 | 0 |
| 18 | Gibsons BC | 2.7% | 4.8% | 43 | 0 | 57 |
| 19 | Centre Hastings ON | 2.5% | 1.4% | 30 | 2 | 3 |
| 20 | Morin-Heights QC | 2.2% | 0.9% | 23 | 0 | 3 |
| 21 | Hearst ON | 2% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 22 | Coverdale NB | 1.9% | 4.4% | 17 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | Big Lakes County AB | 1.8% | 1.9% | 20 | 0 | 12 |
| 24 | Bridgwater Forest MB | 1.7% | 4.1% | 20 | 0 | 1 |
| 25 | Mt. Hope Huron Park ON | 1.5% | 0% | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | River-Osborne MB | 1.5% | 0% | 22 | 4 | 0 |
| 27 | Earl Grey MB | 1.4% | 0% | 25 | 3 | 0 |
| 28 | Lord Roberts MB | 1.4% | 0% | 25 | 1 | 0 |
| 29 | West Alexander MB | 1.4% | 0% | 19 | 4 | 0 |
| 30 | Edgemont AB | 1.4% | 0% | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| 31 | Kneehill County AB | 1.3% | 1.1% | 26 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Westmount ON | 1.3% | 0% | 18 | 0 | 1 |
| 33 | Shaughnessy Park MB | 1.1% | 0% | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Robertson MB | 0.7% | 0% | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Kildonan Drive MB | 0.3% | 1.3% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | Twin Brooks AB | 0.3% | 0.4% | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 37 | Saint-Germain-de-Grantham QC | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Queen Alexandra AB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 39 | Carbonear NL | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 40 | Capilano AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 1 | 1 |
The map
The green map of Gibsons
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
5 named parks and woods to walk in near Gibsons
Brothers Park is the largest, at 2.7 ha; the rest follow by size, numbered as on the map.
5 named parks and woods, 6 ha in all
Parks & gardens 6.5 ha
Two places, Brothers Park and Arrowhead Park, make up 59% of the total.
Winegarden Waterfront Park
Park or garden
0.8 ha0.4 km of path
Centralin the middle of Gibsons
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 9 in 10 of Gibsons’ 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 (89%)Further (11%)
Gibsons89%
Towns in British Columbia72%
Typical Canadian town83%
About 600 residents live further than 400 m from one. That beats the typical Canadian town, where it is 83%.
Protected areas
2.7% of the country within 10 km of Gibsons 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 Gibsons4.8%
Within 10 km2.7%
Towns in British Columbia6.7%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Of those 43, 39 are public and the remainder private. Bowen Island Ecological Reserve covers 399 ha, the most of any named area. The figures include 4 private conservation areas, left unnamed.
Charman Lands Ravine ParkMunicipal park · 16 ha · reaches Gibsons
White Tower ParkMunicipal park · 3.9 ha · reaches Gibsons
Gibson Creek Ravine ParkMunicipal park · 2.7 ha · reaches Gibsons
Arrowhead ParkMunicipal park · 0.9 ha · reaches Gibsons
Georgia Beach ParkMunicipal park · 0.7 ha · reaches Gibsons
Maplewood Lane ParkMunicipal park · 0.1 ha · reaches Gibsons
Plumper Cove Marine ParkProvincial park · 66 ha · 1.7 km from the edge of town
Mount Elphinstone ParkProvincial park · 141 ha · 5.2 km from the edge of town
King Edward Bay ParkMunicipal park · 1.7 ha · 5.9 km from the edge of town
Bowen Island Unnamed #13Nature reserve · 2.3 ha · 6.2 km from the edge of town
24 more named areas within 10 km are in the figures.
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 & provincial parks
The nearest big park: Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, 59 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
Plumper Cove Marine Park
1.7 km east0.7 km²since 1960
Provincial park
Mount Elphinstone Park
5.2 km west1.4 km²since 2000
Provincial park
Roberts Creek Park
9.5 km west0.4 km²since 1947
National park reserve
Gulf Islands National Park Reserve
59 km south67 km²since 2010
Plumper Cove Marine Park, a provincial park, is nearer at 1.7 km. There are 3 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
Gibsons has 24 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
24 km
in and around the town (17.7 km²)
Woodland
25%
about 4.4 km² of mapped woods
Footpaths · km per km²
GibsonsTowns in British ColumbiaTypical Canadian town
Footpaths1.3
012 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
GibsonsTowns in British ColumbiaTypical Canadian town
Woodland25%
0%50%100%
For path density, 54% of Canadian towns do better. For woods, it beats 71% 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
OpenStreetMap shows no walking route near Gibsons
Named walking and hiking routes on OpenStreetMap with at least 300 m within 2 km of the town, longest first; national routes lead.
There is no mapped walking route within 2 km of the town; a local trail club’s maps may show more.
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 Gibsons in May to September
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals from Vancouver (Harbour) (31 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 | 16.2 | 15.9 | 14.4 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.0 | 8.2 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 18 | 20 | 23 | 23 | 19 | 14 | 10 | 7 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 237 | 117 | 163 | 118 | 73 | 66 | 44 | 49 | 71 | 157 | 245 | 200 |
Highs peak near 23 °C in July and fall to 7 °C in December. Expect 245 mm in November, the wettest month, and 44 mm in July. Snow totals about 37 cm a year. The climate in Gibsons →
Beaches
57 beaches within 5 km of Gibsons
Beaches on OpenStreetMap within 5 km of the town’s edge, nearest first, with directions.
Armours Beachin town
DirectionsFranklin Beachgravel · in town
DirectionsPebbles Beachgravel · in town
DirectionsGeorgia Beachgravel · in town
DirectionsSandy Beachsand · 0.7 km from town
DirectionsCampers' Cove1.6 km from town
DirectionsHard-to-come-by Covegravel · 2.1 km from town
DirectionsBonniebrook Beach2.8 km from town
DirectionsPebble Beachgravel · 2.8 km from town
DirectionsAndy's Beach3.9 km from town
DirectionsOpenStreetMap maps 54 km of coastline within 5 km. There are also 42 beaches without a name. This page can’t show water quality: no open, Canada-wide record of beach testing exists. Check local advisories first.
Source: OpenStreetMap (natural=beach), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Things to do
Near Gibsons: 6 viewpoints, 2 waterfalls
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
6Viewpoints2Hills and peaks2Waterfalls3Nature reserves1Picnic sites11Playgrounds1Dog parks1Campsites1Slipways
Among the peaks, Soames Hill is highest at 249 m. Most numerous: playgrounds (11).
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 2
Gospel Rock97 m · in town
DirectionsSoames Hill249 m · 1.7 km from town
DirectionsWaterfalls 2
Chaster Falls1.5 km from town
DirectionsGibsons creek falls1.9 km from town
DirectionsNature reserves 3
Sandy Beach Nature Reserve0.7 km from town
DirectionsHome Island Recreation Reserve1.3 km from town
DirectionsSoames Hill Park1.5 km from town
DirectionsPicnic sites 1
Salmon Rock1.1 km from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 11
Plus 11 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks 1
Shirley Macey Off-Leash Dog Area0.9 km from town
DirectionsCampsites 1
Gibson’s RV Resort0.8 km from town
DirectionsSlipways 1
Keats Landing Boat Launch1.2 km from town
DirectionsSource: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Next door
Next to Gibsons
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page.
Electoral Area E, Sunshine CoastElectoral Area F, Sunshine CoastRoberts CreekBowen IslandGibsons
Under 1%1–5%5–15%15–40%40%+
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gibsons | 2.7% | 43 | 0 | 57 |
| Electoral Area E, Sunshine Coast 2.3 km | 3.4% | 34 | 0 | 48 |
| Electoral Area F, Sunshine Coast 4.0 km | 10% | 73 | 0 | 231 |
| Roberts Creek 8.6 km | 11% | 20 | 0 | 26 |
| Bowen Island 12 km | 7.2% | 60 | 0 | 173 |
Around Electoral Area F, Sunshine Coast, Roberts Creek and Bowen Island the protected share is at least double.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Private land. CPCAD includes conservation land held privately; the page counts it and leaves the names out.
- Protected land. The 10 km band starts at the town’s outline, not its centre, so a large municipality reaches further than a small town.
- Beaches. A beach counts when its centre point lies within 5 km of the town’s outline. Names come from the map.
- Walking routes. Only named route relations count; a park’s own path network may not show unless it is mapped as a route.
- National and provincial parks. A park at 0 km touches or overlaps the town’s outline; directions point from the town’s centre.
Questions about the outdoors in Gibsons
Is Gibsons near a national park?
It is Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, 59 km off.
What is the best season to get outdoors in Gibsons?
May to September, on the 1991–2020 normals and the daylight: long days, highs of 15 °C or more, light rain for the place.
Which is the biggest protected area near Gibsons?
It is Bowen Island Ecological Reserve, a nature reserve covering 399 ha.
What is the nearest provincial park to Gibsons?
It is Plumper Cove Marine Park, 1.7 km away.
Is there a beach near Gibsons?
The nearest is Armours Beach, in town.
How much land around Gibsons is protected?
Within 10 km, 2.7% of the land lies in protected areas.
Sources
Where Gibsons’ 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).