Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainThe nearest provincial park, Pinecone Burke Park, is 11 km away. 4 mapped walking routes pass within 2 km, among them the BC Parkway and Fraser Heights Greenway. A drive of 46 km reaches Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, the nearest national park.
Each figure against Canadian towns of 2,500+; tap a tile for the detail.
What Birdland has most to offer outdoors is the number of public protected areas close by, with its choice of walking routes close behind.
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.
CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC, 2026), OpenStreetMap (November 2026). Distances from the town’s outline.
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (10,482 to 11,014 residents), by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected. Hover for each one’s figures; click for its page.
Against towns its size, Birdland does best for public protected areas: 1 of the other 39 has more.
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ocean Park BC | 27% | 4% | 100 | 3 | 4 |
| 2 | Liverpool NS | 24% | 21% | 230 | 5 | 56 |
| 3 | Timberlea NS | 19% | 30% | 22 | 12 | 7 |
| 4 | Vanier North ON | 11% | 0.6% | 40 | 2 | 2 |
| 5 | Hintonburg-Mechanicsville ON | 11% | 1.4% | 32 | 3 | 5 |
| 6 | Rothwell Heights - Beacon Hill North ON | 11% | 7.8% | 42 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | Yellowhead County AB | 11% | 3.4% | 33 | 2 | 11 |
| 8 | Contrecoeur QC | 10% | 6.3% | 40 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | Vieux Greenfield Park QC | 7.8% | 0% | 28 | 0 | 5 |
| 10 | Wendover ON | 6.7% | 4.4% | 58 | 0 | 4 |
| 11 | Bassin-de-la-Lièvre QC | 6.2% | 20% | 54 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | Montecito BC | 5.5% | 0% | 22 | 2 | 53 |
| 13 | Yarmouth NS | 4.7% | 4.9% | 79 | 0 | 15 |
| 14 | Stittsville East ON | 4.5% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Birdland BC | 4.3% | 9.7% | 119 | 4 | 6 |
| 16 | Saint-Sacrement QC | 4% | 0% | 19 | 1 | 2 |
| 17 | Eastern Passage NS | 3.6% | 2.2% | 14 | 2 | 21 |
| 18 | Bendale South ON | 2.7% | 0% | 16 | 0 | 2 |
| 19 | Rosemont/Mount Royal SK | 2.7% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 20 | Shelburne ON | 2.6% | 0% | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Grand River South ON | 2.5% | 16% | 22 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | Dutrisac QC | 1.8% | 0% | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | East London ON | 1.8% | 1.4% | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Bois-des-Filion QC | 1.7% | 3.3% | 25 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Westminster ON | 1.7% | 28% | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | Victoria Hills ON | 1.6% | 0% | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Alexandria ON | 1.5% | 0.4% | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Exeter ON | 1.5% | 0% | 8 | 0 | 5 |
| 29 | West St. Paul MB | 1.5% | 0% | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Ponoka County AB | 0.5% | 0.2% | 36 | 0 | 2 |
| 31 | Whitecourt AB | 0.5% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Weston-Pelham Park ON | 0.5% | 0% | 11 | 2 | 9 |
| 33 | Rundle AB | 0.3% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 34 | Temple AB | 0.3% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Markland Wood ON | 0.2% | 0% | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 36 | Creditview ON | 0.2% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Walkerton ON | 0.1% | 0% | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| 38 | Lethbridge County AB | 0.1% | 0.2% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Morinville AB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Hidden Valley AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The neighbourhood’s parks, woods, protected land and paths, with its named places numbered.
Green Timbers Urban Forest is the largest, at 215 ha; the rest follow by size, numbered as on the map.
Most of it sits in Green Timbers Urban Forest and Invergarry Park: 79% together.
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.
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.
Against the typical Canadian town’s 83%, that is high.
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
Of the 119, 117 are public land; the others are privately held. Biggest of the named areas: Surrey Bend Regional Park, 331 ha.
30 more named areas within 10 km are in the figures.
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 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.
A provincial park is closer: Pinecone Burke Park, at 11 km.
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
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).
51% of Canadian towns are more wooded. Paths are denser here than in 74% 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.
Named walking and hiking routes on OpenStreetMap with at least 300 m within 2 km of the town, longest first; national routes lead.
The BC Parkway is the big one locally: 29.8 km.
Source: OpenStreetMap (route relations hiking, foot and walking), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Trans Canada Trail sections as OSM maps them.
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals from Pitt Meadows (9.1 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 | 10.1 | 11.7 | 13.7 | 15.3 | 16.2 | 15.8 | 14.4 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.0 | 8.2 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 9 | 11 | 15 | 19 | 21 | 25 | 25 | 22 | 15 | 10 | 6 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 252 | 134 | 173 | 105 | 95 | 69 | 48 | 36 | 94 | 180 | 249 | 214 |
A typical year sees 37 cm of snow. January is the wettest month (252 mm) and August the driest (36 mm). In August the typical high is 25 °C; in December, 6 °C. The climate in Birdland →
Beaches on OpenStreetMap within 5 km of the town’s edge, nearest first, with directions.
Whether the water is fit for a swim isn’t in any open national dataset; public health posts the local advisories.
Source: OpenStreetMap (natural=beach), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
The map shows 111 playgrounds, ahead of the rest.
Plus 1 peak without a name on the map.
Plus 107 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Plus 1 slipway without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page.
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birdland | 4.3% | 119 | 4 | 6 |
| Port Mann 1.4 km | 5.1% | 108 | 6 | 7 |
| Guildford 1.6 km | 4.5% | 125 | 4 | 5 |
| Johnston Heights 2.2 km | 5.8% | 131 | 7 | 6 |
| Whalley 3.1 km | 8.2% | 125 | 5 | 7 |
| Fraser Heights 3.2 km | 4.1% | 129 | 4 | 6 |
| Bridgeview 4.0 km | 8.3% | 116 | 4 | 9 |
Johnston Heights has the most mapped walking routes nearby: 7. None of its neighbours has twice the protected land around it that Birdland has.
Pinecone Burke Park, 11 km away.
On the normals, May to September: that is when days are long, highs reach 15 °C and rain is light.
Surrey Bend Regional Park, a nature reserve of 331 ha.
OpenStreetMap maps the BC Parkway, Fraser Heights Greenway and Green Timbers Greenway close by, with others.
The beaches mapped within 5 km have no names on the map.
Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, 46 km from the edge of town.
Protected areas cover 4.3% of the land within 10 km.
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).