First pick
Mavilette Beach Provincial Park
Park or garden
47 ha
19 km southfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Sophilosophie · CC BY-SA 4.011%protected within 10 km
Outdoors in Clare · parks, protected land & trails
Clare has more protected land around it than nearly 9 in 10 Canadian towns
Swimmers have 19 beaches within 5 km, Deveaus Shore the nearest. For a national park, Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site is 29 km away. Count 43 protected areas within 10 km of town.
Protected land
11%
of the land within 10 km
Typical Canadian town: 2.3%
Protected areas
43
within 10 km, 16 public
Typical Canadian town: 14
Nearest national park
29 km
Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site
Nearest provincial park
At the edge
Mavilette Beach Provincial Park
Beaches
19
within 5 km (OpenStreetMap)
Character
What sets Clare apart outdoors
Each figure against Canadian towns of 2,500+; tap a tile for the detail.
Protected land all round11% of the land within 10 km, more than 86% of Canadian townsBeaches19 beaches within 5 kmA provincial park at the edgeMavilette Beach Provincial Park reaches the town
Above all, Clare offers protected land around it, with its beaches close behind.
Against other towns
Clare beside other Canadian towns, figure by figure
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.
Protected within 10 km11%Share of the land and water within 10 km of the town’s edge in a protected or conserved area
Protected in town5.8%Share of the town’s own area in a protected or conserved area
Public protected areas16Areas within 10 km held by a government or an Indigenous nation
Walking routes0Named OpenStreetMap walking and hiking routes with 300 m+ within 2 km
Beaches19Beaches mapped on OpenStreetMap within 5 km
CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC, 2026), OpenStreetMap (November 2026). Distances from the town’s outline.
Towns its size
Among 40 towns its size, Clare ranks 5th for protected land within 10 km
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (7,889 to 8,153 residents), by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected. Hover for each one’s figures; click for its page.
Protected within 10 km
Clare11%
Towns its size1.7%
Towns in Nova Scotia8.7%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public protected areas
Clare16
Towns its size3
Towns in Nova Scotia24
Typical Canadian town4
Walking routes
Clare0
Towns its size0
Towns in Nova Scotia2
Typical Canadian town0
For protected land nearby, Clare sits near the top of its size group: 4 of 39 have more.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beaubassin East / Beaubassin-est NB | 27% | 2% | 29 | 0 | 11 |
| 2 | Morgan Creek BC | 17% | 1% | 157 | 4 | 1 |
| 3 | Elmvale - Canterbury ON | 14% | 0% | 35 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Shaughnessy BC | 13% | 0% | 12 | 1 | 55 |
| 5 | Clare NS | 11% | 5.8% | 43 | 0 | 19 |
| 6 | Lincoln NB | 6.8% | 3.8% | 26 | 0 | 4 |
| 7 | Holdom BC | 4.9% | 0% | 19 | 2 | 48 |
| 8 | Woodbine AB | 4.6% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 9 | Dufferin Hill ON | 4.4% | 1.6% | 29 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Al Ritchie SK | 4.4% | 39% | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 11 | La Perle AB | 4.4% | 0% | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Haliburton Village ON | 4.1% | 2.6% | 6 | 0 | 9 |
| 13 | Drayton Valley AB | 3.3% | 0% | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Legacy AB | 3.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| 15 | Rocky Mountain House AB | 2.9% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Broadview BC | 2.6% | 0% | 14 | 4 | 25 |
| 17 | Whitewater Region ON | 2.5% | 1.3% | 44 | 0 | 12 |
| 18 | Woodbine-Lumsden ON | 2.5% | 5.1% | 13 | 1 | 18 |
| 19 | Langstaff ON | 2.3% | 0% | 27 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Cornwall PE | 1.7% | 0% | 14 | 10 | 10 |
| 21 | Jackson ON | 1.6% | 3.2% | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Talbot ON | 1.6% | 4.3% | 15 | 2 | 0 |
| 23 | Scenic Acres AB | 1.6% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 24 | Wolseley MB | 1.5% | 0% | 27 | 4 | 0 |
| 25 | Labrador City NL | 1.2% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 26 | North Stormont ON | 1.2% | 1.8% | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Cardinal ON | 0.8% | 0.9% | 13 | 1 | 1 |
| 28 | Otonabee-South Monaghan ON | 0.7% | 0.7% | 14 | 0 | 2 |
| 29 | Silverwood Heights SK | 0.6% | 1.6% | 9 | 1 | 2 |
| 30 | Killarney/Glengarry AB | 0.6% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | Bayham ON | 0.5% | 0.6% | 9 | 0 | 3 |
| 32 | Allard AB | 0.4% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 33 | Lambton Baby Point ON | 0.3% | 7.1% | 6 | 3 | 13 |
| 34 | Charlesworth AB | 0.1% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 35 | Queen Mary Park AB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 36 | Acton Vale QC | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| 37 | Taber AB | 0% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 38 | Harvest Hills AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Sage Hill AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Ottewell AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 1 | 1 |
The map
Clare on the map: green space, protected land and paths
Green space, woods, protected areas and footpaths in and around the town; tap a number for its park or wood.
Green: OpenStreetMap parks, gardens, playing fields and woods. Hatched: CPCAD protected areas.© OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL); CPCAD (OGL-Canada)
Places to walk
Walk in Clare: one named park or wood
The biggest is Mavilette Beach Provincial Park, 47 ha. Biggest first, numbered as on the map.
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.
Close to home
Most of Clare 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.
Within 400 m (0%)Further (100%)
Clare0%
Towns in Nova Scotia18%
Typical Canadian town83%
Most towns do better: the typical Canadian town is at 83%. That leaves about 8,000 people more than a short walk away.
Protected areas
The 43 protected areas near Clare
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
Inside Clare5.8%
Within 10 km11%
Towns in Nova Scotia8.7%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Governments hold 16 of the 43, and private owners the rest. Tobeatic Wilderness Area leads for size with 103,646 ha. The figures include 25 private conservation areas, left unnamed.
Tobeatic Wilderness AreaNature reserve · 103,646 ha · reaches Clare
Silver River Wilderness AreaNature reserve · 5,294 ha · reaches Clare
Porcupine Lake Wilderness AreaNature reserve · 974 ha · reaches Clare
Old Growth Forest LandsNature reserve · 125 ha · reaches Clare
Hectanooga Cedar Swamp Nature ReserveNature reserve · 108 ha · reaches Clare
Wentworth Lake Nature ReserveNature reserve · 54 ha · reaches Clare
Mavilette Beach Provincial ParkProvincial park · 43 ha · reaches Clare
Sissiboo River Wilderness AreaNature reserve · 1,203 ha · reaches Clare
Carleton River Wilderness AreaNature reserve · 919 ha · reaches Clare
Cedar Lake Nature ReserveNature reserve · 23 ha · 0.4 km from the edge of town
5 more named areas within 10 km are in the figures.
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.
National & provincial parks
Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site is 29 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.
National parkProvincial park
Provincial park
Mavilette Beach Provincial Park
At the edge0.4 km²since 1993
National park
Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site
29 km east404 km²since 1967
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
Footpaths and woods
Clare has 100 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
100 km
in and around the town (1,102.2 km²)
Woodland
72%
about 793 km² of mapped woods
Footpaths · km per km²
ClareTowns in Nova ScotiaTypical Canadian town
Footpaths0.1
012 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
ClareTowns in Nova ScotiaTypical Canadian town
Woodland72%
0%50%100%
It has fewer paths per km² than 87% of Canadian towns. It is more wooded than 92% 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.
Walking routes
OpenStreetMap shows no walking route near Clare
Named walking and hiking routes on OpenStreetMap with at least 300 m within 2 km of the town, longest first; national routes lead.
No walking route is mapped within 2 km of the town. Mapping of trails as routes varies a great deal across Canada.
Source: OpenStreetMap (route relations hiking, foot and walking), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Trans Canada Trail sections as OSM maps them.
When to get out
The best months for walking in Clare: June to September
Daylight at the town’s latitude and ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals (Yarmouth, 46 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.9 |
| High (°C) | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 14 | 18 | 21 | 22 | 19 | 14 | 9 | 4 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 124 | 103 | 111 | 101 | 99 | 89 | 78 | 88 | 96 | 119 | 143 | 139 |
Winter brings about 205 cm of snow. July is the driest month at 78 mm; November the wettest at 143 mm. The warmest days come in August (22 °C highs), the coldest in January (1 °C). The climate in Clare →
Beaches
Beaches near Clare: 19 within 5 km
Beaches on OpenStreetMap within 5 km of the town’s edge, nearest first, with directions.
Deveaus Shorein town
DirectionsLighthouse Beachin town
DirectionsBartletts Beachin town
DirectionsMeteghan Beachsand · 0.3 km from town
DirectionsBarres à Pointe Noiresand · 0.3 km from town
DirectionsBarre au Saumon0.4 km from town
DirectionsPort Maitland Beach1.0 km from town
DirectionsBrooks Beach3.3 km from town
DirectionsPitmans Beach4.0 km from town
DirectionsOpenStreetMap maps 107 km of coastline within 5 km. OpenStreetMap marks 2 as sandy. There are also 10 beaches without a name. Canada publishes no open register of beach water tests; the local public health unit posts swimming advisories.
Source: OpenStreetMap (natural=beach), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Things to do
Viewpoints and waterfalls near Clare: 11 and 2
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
Top of the list: viewpoints, 11 of them.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 11
Plus 11 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 6
Claytons Hillin town
DirectionsSalmon Brook Ridgein town
DirectionsThe Boarsbackin town
DirectionsBillys Hill0.8 km from town
DirectionsTitus Ridge1.0 km from town
DirectionsHolmes Hill1.9 km from town
DirectionsNature reserves 1
Mavilette Beach Provincial Park0.3 km from town
DirectionsPicnic sites 3
Plus 3 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 2
Plus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 4
Scallywags Oceanside Campgroundin town
DirectionsPlus 3 campsites without a name on the map.
Slipways 2
Plus 2 slipways without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Next door
Next to Clare
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page. No closer places have figures: these lie 37–45 km from Clare.
DigbyYarmouthYarmouthClare
Under 1%1–5%5–15%15–40%40%+
For protected land, Digby has twice as much or more. Digby has the most mapped walking routes nearby: 3.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. Routes are what OpenStreetMap’s volunteers have mapped as named walking or hiking routes; many good trails aren’t mapped that way.
- 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. CPCAD includes conservation land held privately; the page counts it and leaves the names out.
Questions about the outdoors in Clare
When should you visit Clare for the outdoors?
June to September: long days, mild highs and little rain.
Is there a provincial park near Clare?
Mavilette Beach Provincial Park, which reaches the edge of town.
What is the largest protected area near Clare?
Tobeatic Wilderness Area: 103,646 ha, a nature reserve.
What is the nearest national park to Clare?
It is Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site, 29 km off.
Are there protected areas near Clare?
Protected areas cover 11% of the land within 10 km.
What is the nearest beach to Clare?
Try Deveaus Shore, in town, first of several.
Sources
The sources behind Clare’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).