Kouchibouguac National Park reaches Saint-Charles
Within 10 km of the town, 26% of the land is protected, against 2.3% around a typical Canadian town. Swimmers have 14 beaches within 5 km, Dune Richibucto Nord the nearest. 13 protected areas lie within 10 km.
What sets Saint-Charles apart outdoors
Each figure against Canadian towns of 2,500+; tap a tile for the detail.
Out of doors, Saint-Charles leads with Kouchibouguac National Park on its doorstep, with protected land around it close behind.
How Saint-Charles 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. Outdoors isn’t graded in Canada. The page compares each figure with other towns and leaves it there.
CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC, 2026), OpenStreetMap (November 2026). Distances from the town’s outline.
Saint-Charles has the most protected land nearby of 40 towns its size
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (2,189 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.
For protected land nearby, Saint-Charles tops all 39 other towns its size.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saint-Charles NB | 26% | 13% | 13 | 0 | 14 |
| 2 | Anmore BC | 22% | 47% | 16 | 5 | 98 |
| 3 | Saint-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska QC | 19% | 0% | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Gracefield QC | 19% | 19% | 34 | 0 | 6 |
| 5 | East Preston NS | 16% | 6.3% | 20 | 1 | 5 |
| 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 |
Where the green is in Saint-Charles
The town’s parks, woods, protected land and paths as mapped.
Few people in Saint-Charles 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.
The typical Canadian town reaches 83%. For about 2,200 people, the nearest park is over 400 m away.
Protected areas cover 26% of the land near Saint-Charles
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 10 of the 13; land trusts and private owners hold the others. Biggest of the named areas: Scallop Buffer Zone (SFA 22), 285,278 ha. Another 3 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.
Parks around Saint-Charles
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.
Kouchibouguac National Park
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
Saint-Charles has 44 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
Paths are thinner on the ground than in 81% of Canadian towns. It is more wooded than 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 Saint-Charles
Named walking and hiking routes on OpenStreetMap with at least 300 m within 2 km of the town, longest first; national routes lead.
Nothing near the town is mapped as a named walking route, which often means the trails just haven’t been entered 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 Saint-Charles: May to September
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals from Kouchibougauac (8.5 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) | 8.9 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 15.8 | 15.5 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.6 |
| High (°C) | -4 | -2 | 3 | 9 | 17 | 22 | 26 | 25 | 21 | 13 | 6 | 0 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 116 | 90 | 116 | 96 | 89 | 95 | 93 | 83 | 96 | 133 | 109 | 124 |
Highs peak near 26 °C in July and fall to -4 °C in January. October is the wettest month (133 mm) and August the driest (83 mm). The climate in Saint-Charles →
Saint-Charles has 14 beaches close by
Beaches on OpenStreetMap within 5 km of the town’s edge, nearest first, with directions.
OpenStreetMap maps 182 km of coastline within 5 km. The map adds 11 unnamed stretches of beach. Canada publishes no open register of beach water tests; the local public health unit posts swimming advisories.
Source: OpenStreetMap (natural=beach), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Outdoors around Saint-Charles: 4 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
Playgrounds 2
Plus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 2
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Next to Saint-Charles
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Charles | 26% | 13 | 0 | 14 |
| Saint-Louis de Kent 3.9 km | 40% | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Saint-Louis 6.2 km | 30% | 16 | 2 | 14 |
| Richibucto 6.5 km | 37% | 7 | 0 | 6 |
| Rexton 8.3 km | 24% | 7 | 0 | 1 |
| Richibucto 15 13 km | 5.2% | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Richibucto 15 km | 26% | 12 | 0 | 18 |
Next door, protected shares stay within twice Saint-Charles’. More routes are mapped around Saint-Louis (2).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Private land. CPCAD includes conservation land held privately; the page counts it and leaves the names out.
- 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.
- Beaches. The count includes unnamed stretches mapped as beach, which can make a lakeside town’s figure large.
- National and provincial parks. Distances run from the town’s edge to the park’s, so 0 km means they touch.
- Walking routes. Only named route relations count; a park’s own path network may not show unless it is mapped as a route.
Questions about the outdoors in Saint-Charles
What is the biggest park or reserve near Saint-Charles?
It is Scallop Buffer Zone (SFA 22), a nature reserve covering 285,278 ha.
When is the best time for walking in Saint-Charles?
On the normals, May to September: that is when days are long, highs reach 15 °C and rain is light.
Is Saint-Charles near a national park?
Yes: Kouchibouguac National Park reaches the edge of Saint-Charles.
How much land around Saint-Charles is protected?
Within 10 km, 26% of the land lies in protected areas.
Is there a beach near Saint-Charles?
Try Dune Richibucto Nord, in town, first of several.
Where Saint-Charles’ 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).