Photo: MBBrdn · CC0Floodplain City Lands reaches Brandon
18 km from town is Criddle/Vane Homestead Provincial Park, the nearest provincial park. The largest named area nearby is Brandon Hills Wildlife Management Area, 762 ha, 9.0 km away. The nearest national park is Riding Mountain National Park, 67 km away.
How Brandon compares with other 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. Canada’s grades don’t include the outdoors, so this page compares the figures rather than grading them.
CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC, 2026), OpenStreetMap (November 2026). Distances from the town’s outline.
Brandon sits 13th from last of 40 towns its size for protected land around it
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (48,457 to 72,180 residents), by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected. Hover for each one’s figures; click for its page.
For walking routes, Brandon lags towns its size: 25 of 39 are ahead.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dollard-Des Ormeaux QC | 27% | 3.7% | 40 | 0 | 6 |
| 2 | Langford BC | 27% | 18% | 41 | 7 | 19 |
| 3 | Shawinigan QC | 24% | 61% | 40 | 16 | 10 |
| 4 | Châteauguay QC | 19% | 0.8% | 34 | 0 | 3 |
| 5 | Newton BC | 15% | 7.3% | 174 | 6 | 1 |
| 6 | Port Coquitlam BC | 15% | 5.6% | 125 | 3 | 30 |
| 7 | Pointe-aux-Trembles QC | 9.5% | 7.3% | 38 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | Rimouski QC | 8.8% | 3.6% | 43 | 10 | 48 |
| 9 | Vernon BC | 8.4% | 1.9% | 17 | 0 | 27 |
| 10 | Whalley BC | 8.2% | 1% | 125 | 5 | 7 |
| 11 | Fleetwood BC | 7.8% | 7.9% | 162 | 10 | 0 |
| 12 | North Vancouver BC | 7.5% | 0% | 13 | 4 | 66 |
| 13 | North Bay ON | 7.4% | 5.6% | 4 | 4 | 13 |
| 14 | Mirabel QC | 5.9% | 0.3% | 76 | 1 | 2 |
| 15 | Stouffville ON | 5.9% | 0.5% | 51 | 1 | 1 |
| 16 | Fabreville QC | 5.8% | 3% | 39 | 0 | 4 |
| 17 | Mascouche QC | 4% | 0% | 32 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Welland ON | 3.2% | 0% | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Granby QC | 2.5% | 3.6% | 18 | 0 | 6 |
| 20 | Aurora ON | 2.2% | 0.6% | 42 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | Alliston ON | 2.1% | 0.4% | 36 | 2 | 3 |
| 22 | Georgetown ON | 1.8% | 3.5% | 38 | 6 | 2 |
| 23 | Grande Prairie AB | 1.7% | 0% | 6 | 1 | 6 |
| 24 | Quinte West ON | 1.4% | 0.6% | 22 | 3 | 1 |
| 25 | Belleville ON | 1.2% | 1.8% | 18 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | Blainville QC | 1.1% | 0% | 27 | 2 | 0 |
| 27 | Bradford ON | 1.1% | 1.3% | 28 | 5 | 1 |
| 28 | Brandon MB | 1.1% | 0.9% | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Saint-Hyacinthe QC | 0.7% | 0% | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Keswick ON | 0.7% | 0.9% | 13 | 1 | 14 |
| 31 | Roseborough ON | 0.7% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Rocky View County AB | 0.5% | 0.6% | 20 | 9 | 19 |
| 33 | Woodstock ON | 0.4% | 0% | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| 34 | Churchill Meadows ON | 0.4% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Innisfil ON | 0.3% | 0.1% | 6 | 1 | 17 |
| 36 | Victoriaville QC | 0.2% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 37 | Caledonia ON | 0.2% | 0.4% | 17 | 4 | 7 |
| 38 | St. Thomas ON | 0.2% | 0% | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 39 | Cornwall ON | 0.1% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 40 | Medicine Hat AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Parks, woods and paths around Brandon
The town’s parks, woods, protected land and paths, with its named places numbered.
Walk in Brandon: 17 named parks and woods
Largest first: BYSA Park leads with 22 ha. Numbers match the map.
BYSA Park and Hanbury Hill together hold 46% of it.
Hanbury Hill
Dinsdale Park
Rideau Park
Parkdale Park
Kin Park
Errol Black Park
All 17 named parks and green spaces
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.
A park is within a short walk for 8 in 10 in Brandon
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%. For about 11,000 people, the nearest park is over 400 m away.
Protected areas cover 1.1% of the land near Brandon
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
Public bodies own 4 of the 16; land trusts and private owners hold the others. Biggest of the named areas: Brandon Hills Wildlife Management Area, 762 ha. Another 12 are privately owned conservation land; they count in the figures but aren’t named, as private land isn’t a place to visit.
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.
Riding Mountain National Park is 67 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.
Criddle/Vane Homestead Provincial Park
Riding Mountain National Park
Nearer still is Criddle/Vane Homestead Provincial Park, a provincial park 18 km away.
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
Paths to walk: 108 km in and around Brandon
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
Paths are thinner on the ground than in 61% of Canadian towns. It is less wooded than 61% 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 named walking route passes Brandon on the map
Named walking and hiking routes on OpenStreetMap with at least 300 m within 2 km of the town, longest first; national routes lead.
OpenStreetMap has no named walking route within 2 km of the town. Trails may exist without being mapped as routes.
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 Brandon: May, August and September
Daylight at the town’s latitude and ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals (Brandon, 8.1 km away). Good months: long days, highs of 15–30 °C, light rain.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 8.5 | 10.0 | 11.7 | 13.7 | 15.4 | 16.3 | 15.9 | 14.4 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 9.0 | 8.1 |
| High (°C) | -11 | -9 | -2 | 10 | 17 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 20 | 10 | 0 | -9 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 18 | 14 | 24 | 27 | 65 | 98 | 72 | 56 | 43 | 32 | 20 | 22 |
The yearly snowfall is near 128 cm. From -11 °C in January to 25 °C in August: that is the range of daytime highs. February is the driest month at 14 mm; June the wettest at 98 mm. The climate in Brandon →
83 things to do outdoors near Brandon
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
There are 78 playgrounds, more than of anything else.
Every named place, with directions
Nature reserves 1
Picnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 78
Plus 78 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Plus 1 campsite without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Next to Brandon
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon | 1.1% | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| Whitehead 15 km | 0.7% | 22 | 0 | 3 |
| Elton 15 km | 2.6% | 36 | 0 | 1 |
| Cornwallis 18 km | 5.5% | 26 | 0 | 1 |
Elton and Cornwallis have at least twice the protected share around them.
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. Distances run from the town’s edge to the park’s, so 0 km means they touch.
- Private land. Land owned by individuals, companies or conservation groups counts toward the figures but is never named: a person’s land isn’t a place to visit.
- 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.
Questions about the outdoors in Brandon
What is the largest protected area near Brandon?
Brandon Hills Wildlife Management Area: 762 ha, a wildlife area.
Is there protected land near Brandon?
Yes: 1.1% of the land within 10 km is protected.
Is Brandon near a national park?
Riding Mountain National Park, 67 km from the edge of town.
What is the nearest provincial park to Brandon?
Criddle/Vane Homestead Provincial Park, 18 km away.
What is the best season to get outdoors in Brandon?
May, August and September, on the 1991–2020 normals and the daylight: long days, highs of 15 °C or more, light rain for the place.
Sources for this page on Brandon
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).