Photo: Sam Beebe · CC BY 2.020% of the land within 10 km of Kitimat is protected
National parks are all over 100 km off. Hospital Beach is the one beach within 5 km. Within its own boundary, 6.6% of the town is protected.
What Kitimat has going for it outdoors
Each figure against Canadian towns of 2,500+; tap a tile for the detail.
For someone who likes to get outside, Kitimat’s draw is protected land around it, with a provincial park at its edge close behind.
Each figure for Kitimat, set against 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.
CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC, 2026), OpenStreetMap (November 2026). Distances from the town’s outline.
Among 40 towns its size, Kitimat ranks 3rd for protected land within 10 km
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (9,886 to 10,175 residents), by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected. Hover for each one’s figures; click for its page.
Among its peers, Kitimat’s strong point is protected land nearby, where 2 of 39 top it.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shawnigan BC | 22% | 6.4% | 66 | 4 | 8 |
| 2 | Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury QC | 21% | 24% | 17 | 14 | 0 |
| 3 | Kitimat BC | 20% | 6.6% | 10 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Hatchet Lake NS | 14% | 36% | 53 | 4 | 23 |
| 5 | Lac-des-Fées QC | 14% | 33% | 32 | 3 | 5 |
| 6 | Du Parc QC | 14% | 32% | 38 | 5 | 5 |
| 7 | Amherst NS | 8.7% | 0.2% | 49 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | M-Section (bramalea) ON | 5.4% | 0% | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | Portland Estates NS | 4.5% | 0% | 19 | 4 | 18 |
| 10 | Argyle North SK | 4.5% | 0% | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Elizabethtown-Kitley ON | 4.2% | 1.7% | 25 | 1 | 2 |
| 12 | The Valleys of Thornhill ON | 3.8% | 12% | 34 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Mount Pleasant North ON | 3.8% | 0% | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Acadia AB | 3.8% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| 15 | Mono ON | 3.7% | 6.4% | 56 | 7 | 1 |
| 16 | Van Kirk ON | 3.2% | 0% | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | Laurentian Hills ON | 1.8% | 0% | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Saint-Félicien QC | 1.6% | 0.5% | 11 | 0 | 7 |
| 19 | Blind Bay BC | 1.6% | 1.5% | 15 | 0 | 8 |
| 20 | Bridle Path-Sunnybrook-York Mills ON | 1.5% | 3.9% | 12 | 2 | 1 |
| 21 | Ladysmith BC | 1.4% | 0% | 16 | 1 | 2 |
| 22 | Vincent ON | 1.3% | 3.1% | 14 | 4 | 7 |
| 23 | Lac-Saint-Charles QC | 1% | 1.6% | 21 | 1 | 4 |
| 24 | Hinton AB | 0.9% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Caledonia-Fairbank ON | 0.9% | 0% | 11 | 2 | 1 |
| 26 | Beckwith ON | 0.8% | 0% | 12 | 0 | 1 |
| 27 | Malahide ON | 0.5% | 0% | 8 | 3 | 5 |
| 28 | Stanley MB | 0.5% | 0.8% | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| 29 | Maple Leaf ON | 0.5% | 0% | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| 30 | Temiskaming Shores ON | 0.4% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 31 | Runnymede-Bloor West Village ON | 0.3% | 0% | 6 | 3 | 13 |
| 32 | Penbrooke Meadows AB | 0.3% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Pineridge AB | 0.3% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Springbank Hill AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 35 | River Valley Oleskiw AB | 0.3% | 0% | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 36 | Mitchell ON | 0.2% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Wheatland County AB | 0.2% | 0% | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Bridgewater NS | 0.1% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Palmerston ON | 0% | 0.2% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Taber AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Where the green is in Kitimat
The town’s parks, woods, protected land and paths, with its named places numbered.
Walk in Kitimat: 4 named parks and woods
The biggest is Hirsch Creek Park, 28 ha. Biggest first, numbered as on the map.
The bulk, 97%, is Hirsch Creek Park and Minette Bay West Park.
Minette Bay West Park
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.
6 in 10 people in Kitimat live near 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.
Most towns do better: the typical Canadian town is at 83%. About 4,300 residents live further than 400 m from one.
10 protected areas around Kitimat
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
Governments or Indigenous nations hold all 10. Biggest of the named areas: Foch-Gilttoyees Park, 61,089 ha.
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.
Kitimat River Park meets Kitimat
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.
Kitimat River Park
Foch-Gilttoyees Park
Nalbeelah Creek Wetlands Park
Coste Rocks Park
Sue Channel Park
Eagle Bay Park
For a national park, people in Kitimat travel more than 100 km. Within 10 km are 6 provincial parks.
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
Kitimat and its edge hold 70 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 · km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
For path density, 78% of Canadian towns do better. It is more wooded than 95% 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.
No mapped walking route near Kitimat
Named walking and hiking routes on OpenStreetMap with at least 300 m within 2 km of the town, longest first; national routes lead.
OpenStreetMap lists no walking route near the town, though paths on the ground may well exist.
Source: OpenStreetMap (route relations hiking, foot and walking), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Trans Canada Trail sections as OSM maps them.
The best months for walking in Kitimat: May to August
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals from Terrace (46 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) | 7.9 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 14.0 | 16.0 | 17.1 | 16.6 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.4 | 7.4 |
| High (°C) | -1 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 16 | 19 | 22 | 21 | 16 | 9 | 3 | 0 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 178 | 103 | 90 | 66 | 55 | 52 | 59 | 67 | 119 | 183 | 190 | 178 |
Summer highs reach 22 °C in July; in January they stay near -1 °C. June is the driest month at 52 mm; November the wettest at 190 mm. Some 328 cm of snow falls each winter. The climate in Kitimat →
Kitimat has 1 beach close by
Beaches on OpenStreetMap within 5 km of the town’s edge, nearest first, with directions.
OpenStreetMap maps 181 km of coastline within 5 km. Water quality isn’t shown: there’s no open national record of beach tests. Local health authorities post advisories.
Source: OpenStreetMap (natural=beach), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Viewpoints and waterfalls near Kitimat: 2 and 3
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
Count 11 playgrounds, the biggest group. Look up to Fire Mountain: 720 m.
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 1
Nature reserves 1
Picnic sites 7
Plus 7 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 11
Plus 11 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 3
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Next to Kitimat
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 Kitimat with figures are 50–56 km away.
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kitimat | 20% | 10 | 0 | 1 |
| Electoral Area E, Kitimat-Stikine 50 km | 4.8% | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Terrace 51 km | 6.7% | 9 | 0 | 4 |
| Electoral Area C (Part 1), Kitimat-Stikine 56 km | 21% | 36 | 0 | 84 |
For protected land, no neighbour of Kitimat doubles its share.
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.
- National and provincial parks. Distances run from the town’s edge to the park’s, so 0 km means they touch.
- Beaches. The count includes unnamed stretches mapped as beach, which can make a lakeside town’s figure large.
- 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.
- Walking routes. A route counts when 300 m or more of it lies within 2 km of the town. Coverage of trails on OpenStreetMap varies by region.
Questions about the outdoors in Kitimat
What is the biggest park or reserve near Kitimat?
It is Foch-Gilttoyees Park, a provincial park covering 61,089 ha.
How far is the nearest provincial park from Kitimat?
Kitimat River Park, which reaches the edge of town.
What is the best season to get outdoors in Kitimat?
On the normals, May to August: that is when days are long, highs reach 15 °C and rain is light.
Is Kitimat near a national park?
The nearest national park is more than 100 km from Kitimat.
What is the nearest beach to Kitimat?
The nearest is Hospital Beach, in town.
Is there protected land near Kitimat?
Protected areas cover 20% of the land within 10 km.
Sources for this page on Kitimat
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).