Photo: Krazytea · CC BY-SA 4.0Protected land at Grey’s edge: Portage Sandhills Wildlife Management Area
8.2 km out lies the largest, Whitemud Watershed Wildlife Management Area, at 5,445 ha. For a provincial park, Beaudry Provincial Park lies 18 km off. There is no national park within 100 km of the town.
Each figure for Grey, 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. Outdoors isn’t one of Canada’s graded subjects, so there’s no letter here: each figure is set against other Canadian towns instead.
CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC, 2026), OpenStreetMap (November 2026). Distances from the town’s outline.
Grey has the 12th least protected land nearby of 40 towns its size
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (2,613 to 2,696 residents), by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected. Hover for each one’s figures; click for its page.
For protected land nearby, Grey lags towns its size: 26 of 39 are ahead.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | La Ronge SK | 49% | 0.2% | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 | Tsawwassen BC | 31% | 0% | 24 | 0 | 8 |
| 3 | Division No. 7, Subdivision E NL | 30% | 28% | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | Bouctouche NB | 27% | 1.6% | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 5 | Electoral Area A, Central Kootenay BC | 26% | 38% | 20 | 0 | 5 |
| 6 | Tumbler Ridge BC | 12% | 5.1% | 5 | 0 | 51 |
| 7 | Outlook SK | 11% | 0.1% | 8 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | Electoral Area F, Sunshine Coast BC | 10% | 15% | 73 | 0 | 231 |
| 9 | Saint George NB | 7.2% | 14% | 28 | 0 | 23 |
| 10 | East River, Part 1 PE | 4.3% | 9.1% | 38 | 14 | 20 |
| 11 | Boothill SK | 3.9% | 76% | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 12 | Emerson-Franklin MB | 3.7% | 0.1% | 123 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Kinburn ON | 3.1% | 0% | 31 | 0 | 6 |
| 14 | Saint-François-Xavier-de-Brompton QC | 2.8% | 5.3% | 16 | 1 | 1 |
| 15 | Saint-Mathieu QC | 2.4% | 0% | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | La Présentation QC | 1.7% | 0% | 13 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | Adelaide/Churchill SK | 1.7% | 0% | 18 | 0 | 1 |
| 18 | Westmeria ON | 1.6% | 0% | 18 | 2 | 5 |
| 19 | Meadowlark Park AB | 1.6% | 0% | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 20 | Brockville MB | 1.5% | 0% | 24 | 0 | 1 |
| 21 | South River Heights MB | 1.5% | 0% | 24 | 0 | 1 |
| 22 | Westview SK | 1.4% | 0% | 14 | 0 | 2 |
| 23 | North Point Douglas MB | 1.2% | 0% | 17 | 4 | 0 |
| 24 | Grand Manan NB | 0.8% | 6.1% | 14 | 1 | 31 |
| 25 | Hanna AB | 0.8% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Waterville QC | 0.7% | 0% | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| 27 | Berwick NS | 0.6% | 0% | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Saint-Alexandre QC | 0.6% | 0.6% | 23 | 1 | 0 |
| 29 | Grey MB | 0.6% | 0.7% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Saint-Chrysostome QC | 0.4% | 0.3% | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| 31 | Sundre AB | 0.4% | 0% | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Sweet Grass AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Cy Becker AB | 0.2% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Spaniard's Bay NL | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| 35 | Saint-Bernard QC | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | Saint-Martin QC | 0% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Saint-Léonard-d'Aston QC | 0% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Delton AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 39 | Gold Bar AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 40 | Highlands AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Parks, woods and paths around Grey
Green space, woods, protected areas and footpaths in and around the town.
In Grey, parks are rarely a short walk away
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.
For comparison, the typical Canadian town has 83%. That leaves about 2,700 people more than a short walk away.
Protected land at the edge of Grey: Portage Sandhills Wildlife Management Area
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
2 of the 3 belong to a government or an Indigenous nation. At 5,445 ha, Whitemud Watershed Wildlife Management Area is the largest. One area belongs to a private owner or a land trust and isn’t named here.
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.
18 km to Beaudry Provincial 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.
Beaudry Provincial Park
There is no national park within 100 km; for big parks, Grey has its province’s.
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
Grey and its edge hold 127 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
It has fewer paths per km² than 84% of Canadian towns. Woods cover more of it than in 51% 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.
OpenStreetMap shows no walking route near Grey
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.
Walking season in Grey: May and July to September
Daylight at the town’s latitude and ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals (Portage Southport, 26 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) | 8.6 | 10.0 | 11.7 | 13.7 | 15.3 | 16.3 | 15.9 | 14.4 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 9.0 | 8.1 |
| High (°C) | -10 | -8 | -1 | 10 | 17 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 19 | 11 | 0 | -7 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 18 | 17 | 30 | 37 | 65 | 80 | 62 | 51 | 48 | 41 | 25 | 20 |
The wettest month, June, brings 80 mm, against 17 mm in February. Summer highs reach 25 °C in July; in January they stay near -10 °C. The climate in Grey →
Outdoors around Grey: 3 places to go
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
Every named place, with directions
Nature reserves 1
Playgrounds 1
Plus 1 playground 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 Grey
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 Grey with figures are 16–27 km away.
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grey | 0.6% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Dufferin 16 km | 0.1% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Carman 23 km | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Long Plain 6 27 km | 0.7% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Its neighbours have no more than twice Grey’s protected share.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- Private land. Private conservation land is in the totals, not the lists. Many such areas are easements on working farms or woodlots.
- 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.
- 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.
Questions about the outdoors in Grey
Is there a provincial park near Grey?
Beaudry Provincial Park, 18 km from the edge of town.
Which is the biggest protected area near Grey?
Whitemud Watershed Wildlife Management Area, a wildlife area of 5,445 ha.
When is the best time for walking in Grey?
On the normals, May and July to September: that is when days are long, highs reach 15 °C and rain is light.
Is Grey near a national park?
The nearest national park is more than 100 km from Grey.
Are there protected areas near Grey?
Within 10 km, 0.6% of the land lies in protected areas.
The sources behind Grey’s 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).