First pick
Riverdale Park
Park or garden
7.2 ha0.2 km of path
10 km north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Michael Gil · CC BY 2.02.1%protected within 10 km
Outdoors in Alliston · parks, protected land & trails
Step out of Alliston into Earl Rowe Provincial Park
The closest of Canada’s national parks is Rouge National Urban Park, at 34 km. For walks, 2 named routes run within 2 km, such as the Oak Ridges Trail and Thornton-Cookstown Trans Canada Trail (hiking). For a swim, East Beach is the nearest of 3 beaches within 5 km.
Protected land
2.1%
of the land within 10 km
Typical Canadian town: 2.3%
Protected areas
36
within 10 km, 4 public
Typical Canadian town: 14
Nearest national park
34 km
Rouge National Urban Park
Nearest provincial park
At the edge
Earl Rowe Provincial Park
Walking routes
2
named, within 2 km (OpenStreetMap)
Beaches
3
within 5 km (OpenStreetMap)
Against other towns
Each figure for Alliston, 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. This page carries no grade, because Canada’s grading doesn’t cover the outdoors; the comparisons are the point.
Protected within 10 km2.1%Share of the land and water within 10 km of the town’s edge in a protected or conserved area
Protected in town0.4%Share of the town’s own area in a protected or conserved area
Public protected areas4Areas within 10 km held by a government or an Indigenous nation
Walking routes2Named OpenStreetMap walking and hiking routes with 300 m+ within 2 km
Beaches3Beaches mapped on OpenStreetMap within 5 km
CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC, 2026), OpenStreetMap (November 2026). Distances from the town’s outline.
Towns its size
Alliston sits 18th from last of 40 towns its size for protected land around it
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (43,270 to 59,444 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
Alliston2.1%
Towns its size3.6%
Towns in Ontario2.3%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public protected areas
Alliston4
Towns its size9
Towns in Ontario4
Typical Canadian town4
Walking routes
Alliston2
Towns its size1
Towns in Ontario1
Typical Canadian town0
Among its peers, Alliston’s strong point is walking routes, where 15 of 39 top it. It trails them for public protected areas, where 25 of 39 have more.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dollard-Des Ormeaux QC | 27% | 3.7% | 40 | 0 | 6 |
| 2 | Shawinigan QC | 24% | 61% | 40 | 16 | 10 |
| 3 | Vaudreuil-Dorion QC | 20% | 0.7% | 73 | 0 | 10 |
| 4 | Châteauguay QC | 19% | 0.8% | 34 | 0 | 3 |
| 5 | Mission BC | 19% | 3.5% | 28 | 3 | 33 |
| 6 | Newton BC | 15% | 7.3% | 174 | 6 | 1 |
| 7 | Sault-Saint-Louis QC | 11% | 10% | 24 | 0 | 4 |
| 8 | Rouyn-Noranda QC | 11% | 14% | 90 | 15 | 8 |
| 9 | Saint-Eustache QC | 9.9% | 0% | 42 | 0 | 7 |
| 10 | Pointe-aux-Trembles QC | 9.5% | 7.3% | 38 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | Rimouski QC | 8.8% | 3.6% | 43 | 10 | 48 |
| 12 | Salaberry-de-Valleyfield QC | 8.8% | 1.9% | 27 | 0 | 2 |
| 13 | West Vancouver BC | 8.6% | 21% | 56 | 10 | 132 |
| 14 | Vernon BC | 8.4% | 1.9% | 17 | 0 | 27 |
| 15 | Whalley BC | 8.2% | 1% | 125 | 5 | 7 |
| 16 | Hagerman's Corners ON | 6.4% | 0% | 26 | 1 | 1 |
| 17 | Stouffville ON | 5.9% | 0.5% | 51 | 1 | 1 |
| 18 | Fabreville QC | 5.8% | 3% | 39 | 0 | 4 |
| 19 | Mascouche QC | 4% | 0% | 32 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Port-Maurice QC | 4% | 0% | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Spruce Grove AB | 3.1% | 0% | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Timmins ON | 2.7% | 1.8% | 7 | 0 | 6 |
| 23 | Alliston ON | 2.1% | 0.4% | 36 | 2 | 3 |
| 24 | Charlottetown PE | 2% | 2% | 15 | 25 | 13 |
| 25 | Quinte West ON | 1.4% | 0.6% | 22 | 3 | 1 |
| 26 | Bradford ON | 1.1% | 1.3% | 28 | 5 | 1 |
| 27 | Brandon MB | 1.1% | 0.9% | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Keswick ON | 0.7% | 0.9% | 13 | 1 | 14 |
| 29 | Roseborough ON | 0.7% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Hurontario ON | 0.7% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | Rocky View County AB | 0.5% | 0.6% | 20 | 9 | 19 |
| 32 | Paris ON | 0.4% | 0.2% | 26 | 7 | 3 |
| 33 | Woodstock ON | 0.4% | 0% | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| 34 | Lakeshore ON | 0.4% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| 35 | Churchill Meadows ON | 0.4% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | Innisfil ON | 0.3% | 0.1% | 6 | 1 | 17 |
| 37 | Victoriaville QC | 0.2% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 38 | Caledonia ON | 0.2% | 0.4% | 17 | 4 | 7 |
| 39 | St. Thomas ON | 0.2% | 0% | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 40 | Cornwall ON | 0.1% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 1 |
The map
Where the green is in Alliston
The town’s parks, woods, protected land and paths, with its named places numbered.
Green: OpenStreetMap parks, gardens, playing fields and woods. Hatched: CPCAD protected areas.© OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL); CPCAD (OGL-Canada)
Places to walk
12 parks and woods to walk in, in or near Alliston
Riverdale Park is the largest, at 7.2 ha; the rest follow by size, numbered as on the map.
12 named parks and woods, 28 ha in all
Parks & gardens 28 ha
Riverdale Park and GA Wright Athletic Field together hold 49% of it.
GA Wright Athletic Field
Park or garden
6.7 ha
9.0 km north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Treetop's Park
Park or garden
3.1 ha0.9 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.9 km of path
8.7 km northfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Osin Lions Park
Park or garden · 100 m outside town
3.6 ha
12 km south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Deanne Cynthia Rose Park
Park or garden
1.5 ha
8.7 km north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Hickstead Memorial Park
Park or garden · 310 m outside town
0.9 ha0.3 km of path
13 km south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
McCarroll Park
Park or garden
1.2 ha0.2 km of path
9.1 km north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
All 12 named parks and green spaces
Riverdale ParkPark or garden · 7.2 ha · 0.2 km of path
DirectionsGA Wright Athletic FieldPark or garden · 6.7 ha
DirectionsTreetop's ParkPark or garden · 3.1 ha · 0.9 km of path
DirectionsOsin Lions ParkPark or garden · 3.6 ha · just outside town
DirectionsDeanne Cynthia Rose ParkPark or garden · 1.5 ha
DirectionsHickstead Memorial ParkPark or garden · 0.9 ha · 0.3 km of path · just outside town
DirectionsMcCarroll ParkPark or garden · 1.2 ha · 0.2 km of path
DirectionsOetiker ParkPark or garden · 1.2 ha
DirectionsEastern Avenue ParkPark or garden · 1.0 ha
DirectionsSchomberg Community GardenPark or garden · 0.7 ha · just outside town
DirectionsJoan Sutherland ParkPark or garden · 0.6 ha
DirectionsThe Boulevard ParkPark or garden · 0.5 ha
DirectionsSource: 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
5 in 10 people in Alliston 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.
Within 400 m (54%)Further (46%)
Alliston54%
Towns in Ontario90%
Typical Canadian town83%
Around 23,000 residents are further than 400 m from a park. For comparison, the typical Canadian town has 83%.
Protected areas
Protected areas cover 2.1% of the land near Alliston
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
Inside Alliston0.4%
Within 10 km2.1%
Towns in Ontario2.3%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
4 of the 36 are on public land. At 312 ha, Earl Rowe Provincial Park is the largest. 32 areas belong to private owners or land trusts and aren’t named here.
Earl Rowe Provincial ParkProvincial park · 312 ha · reaches Alliston
Beattie Pinery Provincial ParkProvincial park · 68 ha · reaches Alliston
Matson DriveNature reserve · 13 ha · 4.1 km from the edge of town
Cedar Allen PlaceNature reserve · 0.7 ha · 5.9 km from the edge of town
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
34 km to Rouge National Urban 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.
National parkProvincial park
Provincial park
Earl Rowe Provincial Park
At the edge3.1 km²since 1964
Provincial park
Beattie Pinery Provincial Park
At the edge0.7 km²since 1997
National urban park
Rouge National Urban Park
34 km east46 km²since 2015
Within 10 km are 2 provincial parks.
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
Footpaths and woods
Alliston has 98 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
98 km
in and around the town (363.6 km²)
Woodland
12%
about 43.2 km² of mapped woods
Footpaths · km per km²
AllistonTowns in OntarioTypical Canadian town
Footpaths0.3
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
AllistonTowns in OntarioTypical Canadian town
Woodland12%
0%50%100%
More of it is wooded than in 56% of Canadian towns. 74% of Canadian towns have more footpath per km².
Source: OpenStreetMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Mapping varies by place: a dense figure can mean keen local mappers as much as many paths.
Walking routes
Alliston has 2 named walking routes
Named walking and hiking routes on OpenStreetMap with at least 300 m within 2 km of the town, longest first; national routes lead.
RegionalLocal
Oak Ridges Trail272.4 km
Thornton-Cookstown Trans Canada Trail (hiking)12.4 km
The longest of the rest is the Oak Ridges Trail, 272.4 km.
Source: OpenStreetMap (route relations hiking, foot and walking), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Trans Canada Trail sections as OSM maps them.
When to get out
Walking season in Alliston: May, July and September
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals from Egbert (16 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°C) | -3 | -2 | 3 | 11 | 18 | 23 | 26 | 25 | 21 | 14 | 6 | 0 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 55 | 45 | 48 | 62 | 74 | 83 | 78 | 83 | 72 | 65 | 72 | 58 |
Expect around 174 cm of snow over a winter. July is the warmest month, with highs around 26 °C; January the coldest, at -3 °C. The wettest month, June, brings 83 mm, against 45 mm in February. The climate in Alliston →
Beaches
3 beaches within 5 km of Alliston
Beaches on OpenStreetMap within 5 km of the town’s edge, nearest first, with directions.
East Beachsand · 0.9 km from town
DirectionsWest Beachsand · 1.3 km from town
DirectionsUnnamed on the map: one more. 2 are mapped as sand. This page can’t show water quality: no open, Canada-wide record of beach testing exists. Check local advisories first.
Source: OpenStreetMap (natural=beach), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Things to do
Outdoors around Alliston: 61 places to go
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
Count 54 playgrounds, the biggest group.
Every named place, with directions
Nature reserves 1
Beattie Pinery Provincial Parkin town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 54
Beeton Rotary Parkin town
DirectionsPotter Playgroundin town
DirectionsRotary Splash Zonein town
DirectionsSafari Kids Indoor Playgroundin town
DirectionsPlus 50 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 5
Tottenham Conservation Areain town
DirectionsEarl Rowe Provincial Park - Riverside Campground0.3 km from town
DirectionsEarl Rowe Provincial Park - West Side Campground1.1 km from town
DirectionsPlus 2 campsites without a name on the map.
Slipways 1
Plus 1 slipway without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Next door
Next to Alliston
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page.
Adjala-TosorontioBradfordAlliston
Under 1%1–5%5–15%15–40%40%+
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alliston | 2.1% | 36 | 2 | 3 |
| Adjala-Tosorontio 14 km | 4.7% | 68 | 3 | 4 |
| Bradford 18 km | 1.1% | 28 | 5 | 1 |
For protected land, Adjala-Tosorontio has twice as much or more. Bradford has the most mapped walking routes nearby: 5.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- Protected land. The 10 km band starts at the town’s outline, not its centre, so a large municipality reaches further than a small town.
- Beaches. Beaches are OpenStreetMap’s, named or not; in the north many are unnamed shoreline imports.
- 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. CPCAD includes conservation land held privately; the page counts it and leaves the names out.
Questions about the outdoors in Alliston
What is the biggest park or reserve near Alliston?
It is Earl Rowe Provincial Park, a provincial park covering 312 ha.
What is the best season to get outdoors in Alliston?
May, July and September, on the 1991–2020 normals and the daylight: long days, highs of 15 °C or more, light rain for the place.
How far is Alliston from a national park?
Rouge National Urban Park is closest, at 34 km.
How far is the nearest provincial park from Alliston?
Earl Rowe Provincial Park begins at the town’s edge.
How much land around Alliston is protected?
Protected areas cover 2.1% of the land within 10 km.
What walking routes are near Alliston?
The Oak Ridges Trail and Thornton-Cookstown Trans Canada Trail (hiking), among the routes mapped within 2 km.
Is there a beach near Alliston?
East Beach, 0.9 km from town, is the nearest mapped beach.
Sources
Sources for this page on Alliston
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).