First pick
West Fraser Timber Park
Park or garden
14 ha1.3 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.3 km of path
1.0 km southfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Asahel Curtis · Public domain4.3%protected within 10 km
Outdoors in Quesnel · parks, protected land & trails
0.8 km from Quesnel to Pinnacles Park
Within 100 km there is no national park. Protected areas cover 4.3% of the land within 10 km; for the typical Canadian town it is 2.3%. 8 areas within 10 km are protected for nature.
Protected land
4.3%
of the land within 10 km
Typical Canadian town: 2.3%
Protected areas
8
within 10 km, 5 public
Typical Canadian town: 14
Nearest provincial park
0.8 km
Pinnacles Park
Against other towns
Quesnel 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. No letter: the outdoors is described for Canadian towns, not graded.
Protected within 10 km4.3%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 areas5Areas 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
Quesnel has the 12th most protected land nearby of 40 towns its size
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (10,072 to 10,445 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
Quesnel4.3%
Towns its size2.5%
Towns in British Columbia6.7%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public protected areas
Quesnel5
Towns its size3
Towns in British Columbia14
Typical Canadian town4
Walking routes
Quesnel0
Towns its size0
Towns in British Columbia1
Typical Canadian town0
For protected land nearby, Quesnel sits near the top of its size group: 11 of 39 have more.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury QC | 21% | 24% | 17 | 14 | 0 |
| 2 | Lac-des-Fées QC | 14% | 33% | 32 | 3 | 5 |
| 3 | Du Parc QC | 14% | 32% | 38 | 5 | 5 |
| 4 | Markham Village ON | 9.8% | 0% | 12 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | New Glasgow NS | 9.2% | 0.5% | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | Amherst NS | 8.7% | 0.2% | 49 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Saint-Zotique QC | 7.5% | 0.1% | 12 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | Leeds and the Thousand Islands ON | 5.8% | 8.6% | 44 | 1 | 10 |
| 9 | Notre-Dame-de-Grâces QC | 5.8% | 0% | 21 | 0 | 4 |
| 10 | Professors Lake ON | 4.8% | 0% | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Portland Estates NS | 4.5% | 0% | 19 | 4 | 18 |
| 12 | Quesnel BC | 4.3% | 0% | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Coal Harbour BC | 3.9% | 0% | 12 | 3 | 76 |
| 14 | Mount Pleasant North ON | 3.8% | 0% | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Upper Thornhill Estates ON | 3.5% | 12% | 39 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | East St. Paul MB | 3.4% | 0% | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Lynden ON | 3.1% | 5.4% | 33 | 3 | 3 |
| 18 | Greely ON | 2.7% | 0.7% | 17 | 0 | 3 |
| 19 | Rexdale-Kipling ON | 2.6% | 0% | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Northwood Park ON | 2.5% | 0% | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | Centreville Chicopee ON | 2.5% | 5.1% | 23 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | Masonville ON | 2% | 7.5% | 14 | 2 | 0 |
| 23 | Saint-Félicien QC | 1.6% | 0.5% | 11 | 0 | 7 |
| 24 | Dover AB | 1% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 25 | Hinton AB | 0.9% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Citadel AB | 0.9% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 27 | Beckwith ON | 0.8% | 0% | 12 | 0 | 1 |
| 28 | Glenbrook AB | 0.7% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | West Hillhurst AB | 0.5% | 0% | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 30 | Temiskaming Shores ON | 0.4% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 31 | Humber Heights-Westmount ON | 0.3% | 0% | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| 32 | Runnymede-Bloor West Village ON | 0.3% | 0% | 6 | 3 | 13 |
| 33 | Falconridge AB | 0.3% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Monterey Park AB | 0.3% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Mitchell ON | 0.2% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | Wheatland County AB | 0.2% | 0% | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | City Centre ON | 0.2% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 38 | South Central ON | 0.2% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 39 | Seaforth ON | 0.1% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Taber AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The map
Where the green is in Quesnel
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
Walk in Quesnel: 12 named parks and woods
Largest first: West Fraser Timber Park leads with 14 ha. Numbers match the map.
12 named parks and woods, 42 ha in all
Parks & gardens 42 ha
Most of it sits in West Fraser Timber Park and Alex Fraser Park: 56% together.
LeBourdais Park
Park or garden
5.5 ha0.3 km of path
Centralin the middle of Quesnel
Directionsto a point inside
Ceal Tingley Park
Park or garden
2.4 ha0.3 km of path
0.9 km south-westfrom the centre
Riverfront Trail
Directionsto a point inside
Chuck Beath Memorial Park
Park or garden
1.5 ha0.1 km of path
Centralin the middle of Quesnel
Directionsto a point inside
Wilma Hanson Memorial Park
Park or garden
0.7 ha0.2 km of path
1.5 km westfrom the centre
West Side River Walk
Directionsto a point inside
All 12 named parks and green spaces
West Fraser Timber ParkPark or garden · 14 ha · 1.3 km of path
DirectionsAlex Fraser ParkPark or garden · 10 ha
DirectionsLeBourdais ParkPark or garden · 5.5 ha · 0.3 km of path
DirectionsCariboo FieldsPark or garden · 4.1 ha
DirectionsCeal Tingley ParkPark or garden · 2.4 ha · 0.3 km of path
DirectionsChuck Beath Memorial ParkPark or garden · 1.5 ha · 0.1 km of path
DirectionsJohnston ParkPark or garden · 1.4 ha
DirectionsWilma Hanson Memorial ParkPark or garden · 0.7 ha · 0.2 km of path
DirectionsSouth Quesnel ParkPark or garden · 1.2 ha
DirectionsFraser River ParkPark or garden · 0.7 ha · 0.1 km of path
DirectionsLewis Drive ParkPark or garden · 0.6 ha
DirectionsWeldwood ParkPark or garden · 0.5 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 4 in 10 in Quesnel
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 (43%)Further (57%)
Quesnel43%
Towns in British Columbia72%
Typical Canadian town83%
Around 5,900 residents are further than 400 m from a park. The usual figure for a Canadian town is 83%, above this.
Protected areas
4.3% of the land around Quesnel 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 Quesnel0%
Within 10 km4.3%
Towns in British Columbia6.7%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
On public land: 5 of the 8. The others are private conservation land. Biggest of the named areas: Dragon Mountain Park, 1,773 ha. The figures include 3 private conservation areas, left unnamed.
Pinnacles ParkProvincial park · 124 ha · 0.8 km from the edge of town
Ten Mile Lake ParkProvincial park · 343 ha · 3.8 km from the edge of town
Dragon Mountain ParkProvincial park · 1,773 ha · 5.6 km from the edge of town
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
Pinnacles Park, 0.8 km off
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
Pinnacles Park
0.8 km west1.2 km²since 1969
Provincial park
Ten Mile Lake Park
3.8 km north3.4 km²since 1962
Provincial park
Dragon Mountain Park
5.6 km south-east18 km²since 2013
Canada’s national parks are all more than 100 km from Quesnel, so the parks here are provincial. 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
Paths to walk: 65 km in and around Quesnel
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
65 km
in and around the town (84.8 km²)
Woodland
48%
about 41.1 km² of mapped woods
Footpaths · km per km²
QuesnelTowns in British ColumbiaTypical Canadian town
Footpaths0.8
012 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
QuesnelTowns in British ColumbiaTypical Canadian town
Woodland48%
0%50%100%
61% of Canadian towns have more footpath per km². Woods cover more of it than in 83% 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 mapped walking route near Quesnel
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
Quesnel is best on foot in May, June, August and September
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals from Quesnel (5.8 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) | 8.1 | 9.8 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.8 | 16.9 | 16.4 | 14.7 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.6 | 7.6 |
| High (°C) | -3 | 1 | 7 | 13 | 19 | 22 | 25 | 24 | 19 | 11 | 3 | -2 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 42 | 22 | 27 | 26 | 37 | 63 | 68 | 39 | 46 | 51 | 45 | 43 |
The warmest month, July, is also the wettest (68 mm), while February is driest at 22 mm. The warmest days come in July (25 °C highs), the coldest in January (-3 °C). The climate in Quesnel →
Things to do
Near Quesnel: 2 viewpoints on the map
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
Most numerous: playgrounds (8).
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 2
Plus 2 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Nature reserves 1
Pinnacles Provincial Park1.3 km from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 8
Hickory Dickory Dock Playgroundin town
DirectionsRec Centre Playgroundin town
DirectionsPlus 6 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Next door
Next to Quesnel
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page.
Electoral Area A, CaribooElectoral Area I, CaribooElectoral Area C, CaribooElectoral Area B, CaribooQuesnel
Under 1%1–5%5–15%15–40%40%+
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quesnel | 4.3% | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Electoral Area A, Cariboo 5.5 km | 5.4% | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Electoral Area I, Cariboo 10 km | 7.6% | 19 | 1 | 5 |
| Electoral Area C, Cariboo 11 km | 24% | 18 | 0 | 1 |
| Electoral Area B, Cariboo 11 km | 5.4% | 10 | 1 | 3 |
Around Electoral Area C, Cariboo the protected share is at least double.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Walking routes. Routes are what OpenStreetMap’s volunteers have mapped as named walking or hiking routes; many good trails aren’t mapped that way.
- National and provincial parks. The nearest national park and the nearest provincial park are always shown when they are within 100 km.
- 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.
- Private land. CPCAD includes conservation land held privately; the page counts it and leaves the names out.
Questions about the outdoors in Quesnel
How much land around Quesnel is protected?
Protected areas cover 4.3% of the land within 10 km.
What is the nearest provincial park to Quesnel?
It is Pinnacles Park, 0.8 km away.
What is the largest protected area near Quesnel?
Dragon Mountain Park: 1,773 ha, a provincial park.
What is the best season to get outdoors in Quesnel?
May, June, August and September, on the 1991–2020 normals and the daylight: long days, highs of 15 °C or more, light rain for the place.
Is Quesnel near a national park?
No national park lies within 100 km of Quesnel.
Sources
Where Quesnel’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).