Photo: Carsten Hanebaum · Public domainA national park 10 km from Russell: Riding Mountain National Park
For a provincial park, Asessippi Provincial Park lies 9.4 km off. Protected areas cover 4.9% of the land within 10 km; for the typical Canadian town it is 2.3%. The 10 km around town hold 16 protected areas.
Russell against 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. 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.
Among 40 towns its size, Russell ranks 15th for protected land within 10 km
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (2,675 to 2,753 residents), by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected. Hover for each one’s figures; click for its page.
Russell beats most towns its size for protected land nearby; 14 of 39 do better.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Victoria County, Subdivision A NS | 33% | 54% | 152 | 3 | 59 |
| 2 | Bouctouche NB | 27% | 1.6% | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | Highlands BC | 24% | 41% | 40 | 0 | 18 |
| 4 | Waskaganish QC | 24% | 0% | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Electoral Area E, Peace River BC | 19% | 24% | 25 | 2 | 103 |
| 6 | Holyrood NL | 19% | 3.2% | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| 7 | Musquodoboit Harbour NS | 16% | 28% | 50 | 1 | 17 |
| 8 | Meadow Lake No. 588 SK | 13% | 15% | 25 | 3 | 4 |
| 9 | Eastman QC | 11% | 7.4% | 49 | 5 | 7 |
| 10 | Waterridge Village ON | 11% | 9.2% | 39 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | Swan Valley West MB | 11% | 1% | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Electoral Area F, Sunshine Coast BC | 10% | 15% | 73 | 0 | 231 |
| 13 | Saint George NB | 7.2% | 14% | 28 | 0 | 23 |
| 14 | Freelton ON | 5.6% | 1.6% | 30 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Russell MB | 4.9% | 0% | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Bonaventure QC | 3.7% | 1.5% | 7 | 0 | 11 |
| 17 | Emerson-Franklin MB | 3.7% | 0.1% | 123 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Saint-Charles-de-Bellechasse QC | 3.6% | 0% | 32 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Trinity ON | 2.6% | 2.8% | 27 | 3 | 0 |
| 20 | Wakefield NB | 2.2% | 0.8% | 22 | 0 | 13 |
| 21 | Sussex NB | 2.1% | 0% | 13 | 0 | 3 |
| 22 | Division No. 8, Subdivision L NL | 1.9% | 0.2% | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 23 | La Présentation QC | 1.7% | 0% | 13 | 0 | 1 |
| 24 | Eastdale ON | 1.6% | 0% | 15 | 3 | 8 |
| 25 | Central River Heights MB | 1.5% | 0% | 23 | 0 | 1 |
| 26 | Tuxedo Industrial MB | 1.4% | 0% | 25 | 0 | 36 |
| 27 | Saint-Alexandre QC | 0.6% | 0.6% | 23 | 1 | 0 |
| 28 | Souris MB | 0.5% | 0% | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Sundre AB | 0.4% | 0% | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Macamic QC | 0.3% | 0% | 11 | 2 | 3 |
| 31 | Rivergrove MB | 0.2% | 4.7% | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Cy Becker AB | 0.2% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Wickham QC | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 34 | Lee Ridge AB | 0.1% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 35 | Saint-Bernard QC | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | Saint-Martin QC | 0% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Plessisville QC | 0% | 0% | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| 38 | Country Hills Village AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Gold Bar AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 40 | Highlands AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Russell on the map: green space, protected land and paths
The town’s parks, woods, protected land and paths as mapped.
6 in 10 people in Russell live near a park
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.
About 1,000 residents live further than 400 m from one. The typical Canadian town reaches 83%.
Around Russell, protected areas make up 4.9%
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
Of those 16, 4 are public and the remainder private. Spy Hill-Ellice leads for size with 7,520 ha. 12 more areas within 10 km are private land, held by landowners or conservation groups: counted here, not named.
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.
Big parks near Russell
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.
Asessippi Provincial Park
Riding Mountain National Park
Nearer still is Asessippi Provincial Park, a provincial park 9.4 km away.
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
50 km of paths in and around Russell
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
For path density, 89% of Canadian towns do better. It is less wooded than 58% 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 Russell
Named walking and hiking routes on OpenStreetMap with at least 300 m within 2 km of the town, longest first; national routes lead.
No named route shows within 2 km of the town; volunteers map trails unevenly from one region to the next.
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 Russell: May and September
Daylight at the town’s latitude and ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals (Roblin, 50 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) | 8.4 | 9.9 | 11.7 | 13.7 | 15.5 | 16.5 | 16.1 | 14.5 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.9 | 8.0 |
| High (°C) | -12 | -10 | -2 | 8 | 17 | 21 | 24 | 23 | 18 | 9 | -2 | -10 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 18 | 13 | 23 | 27 | 45 | 88 | 71 | 70 | 34 | 25 | 18 | 18 |
June is the wettest month (88 mm) and February the driest (13 mm). Summer highs reach 24 °C in July; in January they stay near -12 °C. The climate in Russell →
Outdoors around Russell: 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
Picnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
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 Russell
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page. Russell has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 28–30 km out.
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russell | 4.9% | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| Riding Mountain West 28 km | 8.3% | 56 | 0 | 0 |
| Waywayseecappo First Nation 29 km | 1.3% | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| Langenburg 30 km | 1.5% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Around Russell, nobody nearby has double its protected land.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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 share is of the land and water within 10 km of the town’s outline, from CPCAD’s mapped areas; marine areas count, so a coastal town can score high on water.
- 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.
Questions about the outdoors in Russell
When should you visit Russell for the outdoors?
May and September: long days, mild highs and little rain.
How far is Russell from a national park?
The nearest is Riding Mountain National Park, 10 km away.
How much land around Russell is protected?
Yes: 4.9% of the land within 10 km is protected.
Is there a provincial park near Russell?
The closest is Asessippi Provincial Park, at 9.4 km.
Which is the biggest protected area near Russell?
It is Spy Hill-Ellice, a protected area covering 7,520 ha.
Sources for this page on Russell
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).