First pick
The Bluff Recreation Site
Park or garden
780 ha25.9 km of path
5 h 45 minto walk all 25.9 km of path
2.9 km south-westfrom the centre
MeanstreakBack in BlackUptrack+5 paths
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Shawn from Airdrie, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.05.5%protected within 10 km
Outdoors in Smithers · parks, protected land & trails
Call Lake Park is 1.9 km from Smithers
Within 10 km of the town, 5.5% of the land is protected, against 2.3% around a typical Canadian town. OpenStreetMap shows 4 unnamed beaches within 5 km. There is no national park within 100 km of the town.
Protected land
5.5%
of the land within 10 km
Typical Canadian town: 2.3%
Protected areas
5
within 10 km, 5 public
Typical Canadian town: 14
Nearest provincial park
1.9 km
Call Lake Park
Beaches
4
within 5 km (OpenStreetMap)
Against other towns
Each figure for Smithers, 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. This page carries no grade, because Canada’s grading doesn’t cover the outdoors; the comparisons are the point.
Protected within 10 km5.5%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
Beaches4Beaches mapped on OpenStreetMap within 5 km
CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC, 2026), OpenStreetMap (November 2026). Distances from the town’s outline.
Towns its size
Smithers has the 16th most protected land nearby of 40 towns its size
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (5,533 to 5,728 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
Smithers5.5%
Towns its size3.4%
Towns in British Columbia6.7%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public protected areas
Smithers5
Towns its size3
Towns in British Columbia14
Typical Canadian town4
Walking routes
Smithers0
Towns its size0
Towns in British Columbia1
Typical Canadian town0
Among its peers, Smithers’ strong point is public protected areas, where 16 of 39 top it.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hudson QC | 20% | 1.1% | 52 | 0 | 5 |
| 2 | Shediac NB | 14% | 0.9% | 20 | 0 | 6 |
| 3 | Dunrobin ON | 14% | 0.1% | 50 | 1 | 15 |
| 4 | Osoyoos BC | 14% | 0.8% | 22 | 0 | 9 |
| 5 | Saint Marys NB | 13% | 15% | 44 | 1 | 5 |
| 6 | New Edinburgh ON | 11% | 0.1% | 37 | 4 | 3 |
| 7 | Greenboro West ON | 9.7% | 0% | 22 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | Orford QC | 9.3% | 39% | 44 | 4 | 15 |
| 9 | Lanoraie QC | 9% | 7.8% | 35 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | Armstrong BC | 8% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Emerald Woods - Sawmill Creek ON | 6.9% | 21% | 16 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | Lampman ON | 6.9% | 13% | 17 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | Chertsey QC | 6.5% | 7.2% | 16 | 0 | 7 |
| 14 | Annapolis County, Subdivision C NS | 6.3% | 0.1% | 11 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | Havelock ON | 5.7% | 0% | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Smithers BC | 5.5% | 0% | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| 17 | Countryside ON | 4.4% | 0% | 7 | 0 | 1 |
| 18 | Braeside AB | 4% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| 19 | Carp ON | 3.8% | 2.9% | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | Waterloo QC | 3.4% | 0% | 23 | 0 | 2 |
| 21 | Gananoque ON | 3.3% | 1.5% | 11 | 0 | 7 |
| 22 | Creditview ON | 3% | 24% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Oakridge AB | 2.9% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Huron South ON | 2.1% | 2.4% | 23 | 2 | 0 |
| 25 | Memramcook NB | 2% | 0% | 55 | 0 | 2 |
| 26 | County Court ON | 2% | 0% | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| 27 | The Pas MB | 1.9% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Montcalm MB | 1.8% | 0% | 19 | 0 | 1 |
| 29 | St. Matthews MB | 1.6% | 0% | 22 | 4 | 0 |
| 30 | Burrows Central MB | 1.1% | 0% | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | Westwood MB | 1% | 0% | 10 | 1 | 37 |
| 32 | Meadow Lake SK | 0.7% | 0.7% | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | West Lorne ON | 0.6% | 0.6% | 16 | 0 | 3 |
| 34 | Bankview AB | 0.6% | 0% | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 35 | Wolfville NS | 0.5% | 0% | 14 | 1 | 1 |
| 36 | Saint-Roch-de-l'Achigan QC | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Charleswood AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 38 | Coral Springs AB | 0.3% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Crystallina Nera East AB | 0% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Evansdale AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The map
Where the green is in Smithers
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
Walk in Smithers: 2 named parks and woods
The biggest is The Bluff Recreation Site, 780 ha. Biggest first, numbered as on the map.
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
A park is within a short walk for 6 in 10 in Smithers
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 (57%)Further (43%)
Smithers57%
Towns in British Columbia72%
Typical Canadian town83%
In the typical Canadian town the share is 83%, higher than here. Around 2,400 residents are further than 400 m from a park.
Protected areas
5.5% of the land around Smithers 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 Smithers0%
Within 10 km5.5%
Towns in British Columbia6.7%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
None of the 5 is private. Babine Mountains Park is the biggest, 31,146 ha.
Det San Ecological ReserveNature reserve · 5.8 ha · 1.6 km from the edge of town
Call Lake ParkProvincial park · 60 ha · 1.9 km from the edge of town
Babine Mountains ParkProvincial park · 31,146 ha · 5.3 km from the edge of town
Tyhee Lake ParkProvincial park · 39 ha · 6.8 km from the edge of town
Driftwood Canyon ParkProvincial park · 23 ha · 8.1 km from the edge of town
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
1.9 km to Call Lake Park
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
Call Lake Park
1.9 km south-east0.6 km²since 1999
Provincial park
Babine Mountains Park
5.3 km north-east311 km²since 1984
Provincial park
Tyhee Lake Park
6.8 km south-east0.4 km²since 1956
Provincial park
Driftwood Canyon Park
8.1 km north-east0.2 km²since 1967
Canada’s national parks are all more than 100 km from Smithers, so the parks here are provincial. 4 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
Smithers and its edge hold 45 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
45 km
in and around the town (46.9 km²)
Woodland
55%
about 25.7 km² of mapped woods
Footpaths · km per km²
SmithersTowns in British ColumbiaTypical Canadian town
Footpaths1
012 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
SmithersTowns in British ColumbiaTypical Canadian town
Woodland55%
0%50%100%
59% of Canadian towns have more footpath per km². Woods cover more of it than in 86% 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 Smithers
Named walking and hiking routes on OpenStreetMap with at least 300 m within 2 km of the town, longest first; national routes lead.
The map shows no named route near the town. That says more about OpenStreetMap’s coverage than about the paths on the ground.
Source: OpenStreetMap (route relations hiking, foot and walking), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Trans Canada Trail sections as OSM maps them.
When to get out
Walking season in Smithers: May to September
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals from Smithers (4.8 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) | 7.8 | 9.6 | 11.7 | 14.0 | 16.1 | 17.3 | 16.8 | 14.9 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.3 | 7.2 |
| High (°C) | -3 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 16 | 9 | 1 | -3 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 42 | 24 | 20 | 27 | 39 | 51 | 44 | 45 | 49 | 66 | 54 | 44 |
Most rain and snow falls in October, 66 mm; March sees 20 mm. Daytime highs run from -3 °C in January up to 22 °C in July. Snowfall averages 184 cm a year. The climate in Smithers →
Beaches
4 beaches within 5 km of Smithers, none named
Beaches on OpenStreetMap within 5 km of the town’s edge, nearest first, with directions.
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.
Things to do
A viewpoint near Smithers
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
The most common are playgrounds: 4 on the map.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 1
Plus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Nature reserves 1
Det San Ecological Reserve1.7 km from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 4
Plus 4 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Riverside Municipal Campgroundin town
DirectionsSource: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Next door
Next to Smithers
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, Bulkley-NechakoTelkwaSmithers
Under 1%1–5%5–15%15–40%40%+
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smithers | 5.5% | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako 4.2 km | 15% | 9 | 0 | 17 |
| Telkwa 13 km | 3.3% | 5 | 0 | 10 |
For protected land, Electoral Area A, Bulkley-Nechako has twice as much or more.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- National and provincial parks. National parks are Parks Canada’s; provincial parks are the province’s or territory’s, Québec’s parcs nationaux among them.
- Beaches. Beaches are OpenStreetMap’s, named or not; in the north many are unnamed shoreline imports.
- Private land. Private conservation land is in the totals, not the lists. Many such areas are easements on working farms or woodlots.
- Walking routes. Only named route relations count; a park’s own path network may not show unless it is mapped as a route.
- Protected land. CPCAD maps each protected area; the page counts how much of the 10 km around the town they cover, lakes and sea included.
Questions about the outdoors in Smithers
When should you visit Smithers for the outdoors?
On the normals, May to September: that is when days are long, highs reach 15 °C and rain is light.
How far is the nearest provincial park from Smithers?
Call Lake Park, 1.9 km from the edge of town.
How much land around Smithers is protected?
Yes: 5.5% of the land within 10 km is protected.
Is there a beach near Smithers?
There are beaches within 5 km, none of them named.
Is Smithers near a national park?
The nearest national park is more than 100 km from Smithers.
Which is the biggest protected area near Smithers?
It is Babine Mountains Park, a provincial park covering 31,146 ha.
Sources
The sources behind Smithers’ outdoors figures
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).