Protected land around Dalhousie beats nearly 9 in 10 Canadian towns
CPCAD lists 24 protected areas within 10 km. Miguasha National Park (Québec) is the closest provincial park, at 3.7 km. 4 beaches are mapped within 5 km, the nearest Eel River Bar.
What sets Dalhousie apart outdoors
Each figure against Canadian towns of 2,500+; tap a tile for the detail.
Above all, Dalhousie offers protected land around it, with the number of public protected areas close by close behind.
Dalhousie 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, Dalhousie ranks 5th for protected land within 10 km
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (1,132 to 2,587 residents), by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected. Hover for each one’s figures; click for its page.
Dalhousie beats most towns its size for protected land nearby; 4 of 39 do better.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anmore BC | 22% | 47% | 16 | 5 | 98 |
| 2 | Saint-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska QC | 19% | 0% | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Gracefield QC | 19% | 19% | 34 | 0 | 6 |
| 4 | East Preston NS | 16% | 6.3% | 20 | 1 | 5 |
| 5 | Dalhousie NB | 10% | 0% | 24 | 0 | 4 |
| 6 | Clearwater BC | 7.7% | 4.1% | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | Roberval QC | 6.1% | 1.2% | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague QC | 5.8% | 0% | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | North Frontenac ON | 5.7% | 5.2% | 13 | 6 | 4 |
| 10 | Cap-Chat QC | 5.3% | 0.4% | 13 | 0 | 10 |
| 11 | Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards ON | 4.4% | 1.5% | 9 | 0 | 4 |
| 12 | Saint-Polycarpe QC | 4.2% | 0% | 11 | 0 | 2 |
| 13 | Macassa ON | 4.1% | 0% | 18 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | Saint-Damien QC | 4% | 3.2% | 22 | 1 | 9 |
| 15 | Unity SK | 3.4% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Sherwood ON | 3.4% | 0% | 19 | 2 | 0 |
| 17 | McNab SK | 2.6% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 18 | Mandeville QC | 2.5% | 1.8% | 19 | 4 | 7 |
| 19 | Esterhazy SK | 1.8% | 0% | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | City Commercial Core ON | 1.8% | 0% | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Caswell Hill SK | 1.4% | 0% | 16 | 0 | 3 |
| 22 | Fossambault-sur-le-Lac QC | 1.3% | 7.8% | 15 | 0 | 14 |
| 23 | Pembina MB | 1.1% | 1.8% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Burrows-Keewatin MB | 1% | 0% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Elmwood AB | 0.8% | 0% | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 26 | Hatley QC | 0.7% | 0% | 9 | 0 | 5 |
| 27 | Munroe West MB | 0.4% | 0% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Brooke-Alvinston ON | 0.3% | 0.2% | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Rosedale AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 30 | Minchau AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 31 | Lunenburg NS | 0.1% | 0% | 19 | 0 | 5 |
| 32 | Salisbury NB | 0.1% | 2.1% | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Dufferin MB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Ekota AB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 35 | Satoo AB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 36 | Saint-Éphrem-de-Beauce QC | 0% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 37 | Magrath AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Nanton AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Rimbey AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Sexsmith AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Parks, woods and paths around Dalhousie
Green space, woods, protected areas and footpaths in and around the town.
Most of Dalhousie is more than a short walk from 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.
Around 1,100 residents are further than 400 m from a park. A median Canadian town manages 83%.
The 24 protected areas near Dalhousie
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
On public land: 21 of the 24. The others are private conservation land. Scallop Buffer Zone (SFA 21) covers 47,707 ha, the most of any named area. 3 more areas within 10 km are private land, held by landowners or conservation groups: counted here, not named.
10 more named areas within 10 km are in the figures.
1 area recorded only by its type (a provincial layer such as wildlife habitat areas) is 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.
The nearest big park: Miguasha National Park (Québec), 3.7 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.
Miguasha National Park (Québec)
Canada’s national parks are all more than 100 km from Dalhousie, so the parks here are provincial.
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
Dalhousie has 18 km of footpaths in and around it
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
83% of Canadian towns have more footpath per km². More of it is wooded than in 90% 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 Dalhousie
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.
Get out in Dalhousie in June and August
Daylight at the town’s latitude and ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals (Charlo, 15 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) | 8.8 | 10.1 | 11.7 | 13.6 | 15.2 | 16.0 | 15.7 | 14.3 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.2 | 8.4 |
| High (°C) | -7 | -6 | 0 | 7 | 15 | 21 | 24 | 23 | 18 | 11 | 4 | -3 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 71 | 65 | 79 | 69 | 92 | 90 | 104 | 82 | 101 | 94 | 87 | 76 |
Summer storms make July the wettest month, 104 mm; February sees 65 mm. July is the warmest month, with highs around 24 °C; January the coldest, at -7 °C. The climate in Dalhousie →
For a swim near Dalhousie: Eel River Bar, 0.7 km off
Beaches on OpenStreetMap within 5 km of the town’s edge, nearest first, with directions.
Within 5 km is 88 km of coastline. Another 3 have no name on the map. Canada publishes no open register of beach water tests; the local public health unit posts swimming advisories.
Source: OpenStreetMap (natural=beach), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Near Dalhousie: 4 viewpoints on the map
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
13 playgrounds top the list. Dalhousie Mountain, 182 m, is the high point nearby.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 4
Plus 4 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 3
Playgrounds 13
Plus 13 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks 1
Plus 1 dog park without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Slipways 3
Plus 3 slipways without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Next to Dalhousie
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dalhousie | 10% | 24 | 0 | 4 |
| Eel River Crossing 7.2 km | 9.9% | 13 | 0 | 2 |
| Balmoral 8.7 km | 11% | 8 | 0 | 1 |
| Dalhousie 10 km | 13% | 11 | 0 | 1 |
| Pointe-à-la-Croix 13 km | 7.6% | 34 | 1 | 4 |
| Campbellton 13 km | 3.5% | 10 | 1 | 2 |
| Charlo 14 km | 22% | 14 | 0 | 7 |
Charlo has at least twice the protected share around it.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. The list is OpenStreetMap’s, so a missing trail may just be unmapped. The Trans Canada Trail appears where OSM maps it.
- 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.
- Beaches. The count includes unnamed stretches mapped as beach, which can make a lakeside town’s figure large.
- National and provincial parks. A park at 0 km touches or overlaps the town’s outline; directions point from the town’s centre.
Questions about the outdoors in Dalhousie
How far is the nearest provincial park from Dalhousie?
The closest is Miguasha National Park (Québec), at 3.7 km.
When should you visit Dalhousie for the outdoors?
On the normals, June and August: that is when days are long, highs reach 15 °C and rain is light.
Is there a beach near Dalhousie?
Try Eel River Bar, 0.7 km from town, first of several.
What is the largest protected area near Dalhousie?
It is Scallop Buffer Zone (SFA 21), a nature reserve covering 47,707 ha.
Is there protected land near Dalhousie?
Protected areas cover 10% of the land within 10 km.
What is the nearest national park to Dalhousie?
The nearest national park is more than 100 km from Dalhousie.
Where Dalhousie’s outdoors figures come from
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).