Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0Athens is 9.1 km from Thousand Islands National Park
Within 5 km lie 2 beaches, unnamed on the map. Within 10 km of the town, 3.9% of the land is protected, against 2.3% around a typical Canadian town. Within 10 km are 16 protected areas.
What Athens has going for it outdoors
Each figure against Canadian towns of 2,500+; tap a tile for the detail.
What Athens has most to offer outdoors is Thousand Islands National Park within easy reach, with a provincial park at its edge close behind.
How Athens 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 one of Canada’s graded subjects, so there’s no letter here: each figure is set against other Canadian towns instead.
CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC, 2026), OpenStreetMap (November 2026). Distances from the town’s outline.
Among 40 towns its size, Athens ranks 14th for protected land within 10 km
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (3,030 to 3,127 residents), by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected. Hover for each one’s figures; click for its page.
Against towns its size, Athens does best for protected land nearby: 13 of the other 39 have more. 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 | Trois-Pistoles QC | 44% | 0.9% | 20 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | Cap-Pelé NB | 43% | 2.6% | 11 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | Cap-Saint-Ignace QC | 20% | 0.1% | 51 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Elkford BC | 12% | 16% | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Sudbury, Unorganized, North Part ON | 11% | 9.8% | 92 | 2 | 15 |
| 6 | Leslie Park - Bruce Farm ON | 11% | 0% | 24 | 2 | 5 |
| 7 | Electoral Area D, Cariboo BC | 9.4% | 10% | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | Riverside Park South - Revelstoke ON | 8.3% | 6.2% | 33 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | Greenbelt (east) ON | 7.4% | 45% | 53 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | Ainslie Wood East ON | 7.4% | 0% | 19 | 2 | 3 |
| 11 | Kirkendall South ON | 6.9% | 0.9% | 23 | 2 | 3 |
| 12 | Clear Hills AB | 5.4% | 5.4% | 31 | 0 | 115 |
| 13 | Clermont QC | 4.1% | 0% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Athens ON | 3.9% | 2% | 16 | 0 | 2 |
| 15 | Grenville-sur-la-Rouge QC | 3.2% | 3.7% | 23 | 0 | 3 |
| 16 | Rosedale ON | 2.3% | 0% | 16 | 2 | 4 |
| 17 | Alpine ON | 2.1% | 0% | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Electoral Area E, Alberni-Clayoquot BC | 1.9% | 0% | 10 | 15 | 2 |
| 19 | Nutana Park SK | 1.7% | 0% | 18 | 0 | 1 |
| 20 | Poplar Park ON | 1.6% | 0% | 15 | 1 | 7 |
| 21 | Lakeshore ON | 1.5% | 0% | 15 | 0 | 8 |
| 22 | South Portage MB | 1.5% | 0% | 20 | 4 | 0 |
| 23 | Crescentwood MB | 1.4% | 0% | 24 | 3 | 0 |
| 24 | Princeton BC | 1.2% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 18 |
| 25 | Normandin QC | 1.1% | 0% | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Brooklands MB | 1.1% | 0% | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Admaston/Bromley ON | 0.7% | 1% | 7 | 0 | 2 |
| 28 | Luxton MB | 0.5% | 0% | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Tisdale SK | 0.4% | 0.2% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Shippagan NB | 0.3% | 0% | 7 | 0 | 15 |
| 31 | Ange-Gardien QC | 0.3% | 0% | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Bisset AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 33 | Crawford Plains AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 34 | Laurier Heights AB | 0.3% | 0% | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 35 | Saint-Gabriel QC | 0.2% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 7 |
| 36 | Saint-Dominique QC | 0.1% | 0% | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Saint-Liboire QC | 0% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 38 | La Loche SK | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Houston BC | 0% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| 40 | Glengarry AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The green map of Athens
The town’s parks, woods, protected land and paths, with its named places numbered.
8 named parks and woods to walk in near Athens
The biggest is Croziers Island, 52 ha. Biggest first, numbered as on the map.
Most of it sits in Croziers Island and Sheep Island: 71% together.
Sheep Island
Crow Island
Tar Island
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.
Few people in Athens 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.
For about 3,100 people, the nearest park is over 400 m away. The typical Canadian town does better, at 83%.
Around Athens, protected areas make up 3.9%
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
Public ownership covers 2 of the 16. Charleston Lake Provincial Park covers 2,880 ha, the most of any named area. Another 14 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.
Big parks near Athens
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.
Charleston Lake Provincial Park
Thousand Islands National Park
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
Athens and its edge hold 22 km of footpath
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 woods, it beats 80% of Canadian towns. Paths are thinner on the ground than in 85% 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.
No mapped walking route near Athens
Named walking and hiking routes on OpenStreetMap with at least 300 m within 2 km of the town, longest first; national routes lead.
OpenStreetMap has no named walking route within 2 km of the town. Trails may exist without being mapped as routes.
Source: OpenStreetMap (route relations hiking, foot and walking), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Trans Canada Trail sections as OSM maps them.
Get out in Athens in May, June, August and September
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals from Brockville (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 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°C) | -3 | -2 | 4 | 11 | 19 | 23 | 26 | 25 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 0 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 84 | 64 | 68 | 89 | 80 | 96 | 99 | 82 | 96 | 94 | 81 | 85 |
July brings both the warmest days and the most rain (99 mm); February is driest (64 mm). Summer highs reach 26 °C in July; in January they stay near -3 °C. Some 180 cm of snow falls each winter. The climate in Athens →
2 beaches within 5 km of Athens, none named
Beaches on OpenStreetMap within 5 km of the town’s edge, nearest first, with directions.
Whether the water is fit for a swim isn’t in any open national dataset; public health posts the local advisories.
Source: OpenStreetMap (natural=beach), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Near Athens: 1 viewpoints, 2 waterfalls
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
There are 5 slipways, more than of anything else.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 1
Plus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 1
Waterfalls 2
Plus 2 waterfalls without a name on the map.
Nature reserves 1
Picnic sites 2
Plus 2 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 2
Plus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 2
Plus 1 campsite without a name on the map.
Slipways 5
Plus 3 slipways without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Next to Athens
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athens | 3.9% | 16 | 0 | 2 |
| Elizabethtown-Kitley 9.7 km | 4.2% | 25 | 1 | 2 |
| Front of Yonge 15 km | 4.9% | 15 | 0 | 1 |
| Rideau Lakes 18 km | 10% | 77 | 6 | 12 |
For protected land, Rideau Lakes has twice as much or more. For walking routes, Rideau Lakes leads the area with 6.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- National and provincial parks. A park at 0 km touches or overlaps the town’s outline; directions point from the town’s centre.
- Protected land. Protected here means in CPCAD, Canada’s official list: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and other conserved land, measured within 10 km of the town’s edge.
- 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.
- Beaches. Beaches are OpenStreetMap’s, named or not; in the north many are unnamed shoreline imports.
- Private land. CPCAD includes conservation land held privately; the page counts it and leaves the names out.
Questions about the outdoors in Athens
What is the nearest beach to Athens?
The beaches mapped within 5 km have no names on the map.
How far is the nearest provincial park from Athens?
Charleston Lake Provincial Park, which reaches the edge of town.
Is there protected land near Athens?
Protected areas cover 3.9% of the land within 10 km.
What is the biggest park or reserve near Athens?
Charleston Lake Provincial Park, a provincial park of 2,880 ha.
What is the best season to get outdoors in Athens?
May, June, August 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 Athens from a national park?
Thousand Islands National Park, 9.1 km from the edge of town.
Where Athens’ 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).