First pick
Exhibition Grounds
Park or garden
11 ha0.1 km of path
11 km northfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: JustSomePics · CC BY-SA 3.00.3%protected within 10 km
Outdoors in Chesley · parks, protected land & trails
9.3 km from Chesley to MacGregor Point Provincial Park
OpenStreetMap shows 5 unnamed beaches within 5 km. Bruce Peninsula National Park is the closest national park, 65 km from town. The protected share within 10 km is 0.3%, where a typical Canadian town has 2.3%.
Protected land
0.3%
of the land within 10 km
Typical Canadian town: 2.3%
Protected areas
19
within 10 km, 1 public
Typical Canadian town: 14
Nearest national park
65 km
Bruce Peninsula National Park
Nearest provincial park
9.3 km
MacGregor Point Provincial Park
Beaches
5
within 5 km (OpenStreetMap)
Character
What Chesley has going for it outdoors
Each figure against Canadian towns of 2,500+; tap a tile for the detail.
Out of doors, Chesley leads with its beaches. Where it falls short is protected land nearby.
Against other towns
Chesley 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. Outdoors isn’t one of Canada’s graded subjects, so there’s no letter here: each figure is set against other Canadian towns instead.
Protected within 10 km0.3%Share of the land and water within 10 km of the town’s edge in a protected or conserved area
Protected in town0.2%Share of the town’s own area in a protected or conserved area
Public protected areas1Areas within 10 km held by a government or an Indigenous nation
Walking routes0Named OpenStreetMap walking and hiking routes with 300 m+ within 2 km
Beaches5Beaches mapped on OpenStreetMap within 5 km
CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC, 2026), OpenStreetMap (November 2026). Distances from the town’s outline.
Towns its size
Chesley sits 8th from last of 40 towns its size for protected land around it
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (7,485 to 7,785 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
Chesley0.3%
Towns its size2%
Towns in Ontario2.3%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public protected areas
Chesley1
Towns its size4
Towns in Ontario4
Typical Canadian town4
Walking routes
Chesley0
Towns its size0
Towns in Ontario1
Typical Canadian town0
For protected land nearby, Chesley lags towns its size: 32 of 39 are ahead.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Digby NS | 27% | 33% | 43 | 3 | 15 |
| 2 | Blackburn Hamlet ON | 15% | 0% | 32 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Beacon Hill South - Cardinal Heights ON | 13% | 0% | 37 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Baie-Saint-Paul QC | 11% | 0.1% | 18 | 11 | 8 |
| 5 | Donnacona QC | 9.6% | 0.1% | 23 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | Parry Sound ON | 7.1% | 0% | 7 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | Mountview ON | 7% | 0% | 21 | 2 | 2 |
| 8 | Louiseville QC | 6.9% | 0.9% | 26 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | N-Section (bramalea) ON | 5.5% | 0% | 7 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | Landsdale ON | 4.7% | 0% | 23 | 1 | 3 |
| 11 | Gibson ON | 4.6% | 0% | 24 | 1 | 3 |
| 12 | Saint-Calixte QC | 3.6% | 0.4% | 11 | 0 | 5 |
| 13 | Campbellton NB | 3.5% | 0% | 10 | 1 | 2 |
| 14 | Shefford QC | 3.1% | 1.6% | 34 | 0 | 7 |
| 15 | Lakeview SK | 2.8% | 0.1% | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 16 | Westlock County AB | 2.6% | 3.4% | 35 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Blake-Jones ON | 2.3% | 0% | 12 | 4 | 32 |
| 18 | Playter Estates-Danforth ON | 2.3% | 1.5% | 11 | 5 | 18 |
| 19 | University ON | 2.2% | 0% | 12 | 9 | 20 |
| 20 | Altadore AB | 2% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 21 | Valley Ridge AB | 2% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 22 | Stoneybrook ON | 1.8% | 21% | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | Eastview SK | 1.7% | 0% | 17 | 0 | 1 |
| 24 | Pulberry MB | 1.5% | 7.7% | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Bostwick ON | 1.3% | 0.1% | 23 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | Central St. Boniface MB | 1.3% | 2.9% | 22 | 4 | 0 |
| 27 | Kentville NS | 1.1% | 17% | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Brazeau County AB | 1% | 1.2% | 29 | 0 | 1 |
| 29 | Ambleside AB | 1% | 0% | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| 30 | Fruitland ON | 0.9% | 4.9% | 25 | 5 | 9 |
| 31 | Augusta ON | 0.8% | 0% | 11 | 1 | 1 |
| 32 | Chatsworth ON | 0.6% | 0.7% | 45 | 1 | 1 |
| 33 | Chesley ON | 0.3% | 0.2% | 19 | 0 | 5 |
| 34 | Fort Frances ON | 0.3% | 0.3% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Forest Lawn AB | 0.3% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 36 | River East MB | 0.2% | 5.2% | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Fairview ON | 0.1% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Port Credit ON | 0.1% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| 39 | Saint-Lambert-de-Lauzon QC | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Saint-Félix-de-Valois QC | 0% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
The map
The green map of Chesley
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 Chesley: 4 named parks and woods
The biggest is Exhibition Grounds, 11 ha. Biggest first, numbered as on the map.
4 named parks and woods, 27 ha in all
Parks & gardens 27 ha
Two places, Exhibition Grounds and Chelsey Community Park, make up 68% of the total.
Chelsey Community Park
Park or garden
8.1 ha
9.7 km south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Allan Gammie Ball Park
Park or garden
7.7 ha
12 km south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
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
2 in 10 people in Chesley 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 (15%)Further (85%)
Chesley15%
Towns in Ontario90%
Typical Canadian town83%
That leaves about 6,500 people more than a short walk away. That is below the typical Canadian town (83%).
Protected areas
19 protected areas lie within 10 km of Chesley
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
Inside Chesley0.2%
Within 10 km0.3%
Towns in Ontario2.3%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Governments hold 1 of the 19, and private owners the rest. 18 more areas are private land or have no recorded public owner: counted, not named.
MacGregor Point Provincial ParkProvincial park · 1,492 ha · 9.3 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
Bruce Peninsula National Park, 65 km off
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
MacGregor Point Provincial Park
9.3 km west15 km²since 1975
National park
Bruce Peninsula National Park
65 km north125 km²since 1987
Nearer still is MacGregor Point Provincial Park, a provincial park 9.3 km away.
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
Footpaths and woods
Chesley and its edge hold 12 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
12 km
in and around the town (588.1 km²)
Woodland
13%
about 75.9 km² of mapped woods
Footpaths · km per km²
ChesleyTowns in OntarioTypical Canadian town
Footpaths0
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
ChesleyTowns in OntarioTypical Canadian town
Woodland13%
0%50%100%
It is more wooded than 58% of Canadian towns. It has fewer paths per km² than 96% 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 Chesley
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 walking or hiking route is mapped near the town; local paths may simply not be on OpenStreetMap as routes.
Source: OpenStreetMap (route relations hiking, foot and walking), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Trans Canada Trail sections as OSM maps them.
When to get out
Chesley is best on foot in May to August
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals from Wiarton (41 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 | 8.9 |
| High (°C) | -2 | -2 | 3 | 10 | 17 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 20 | 13 | 7 | 1 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 111 | 77 | 66 | 84 | 82 | 79 | 70 | 83 | 99 | 110 | 110 | 104 |
About 385 cm of snow falls in a year. Precipitation runs from 66 mm in March to 111 mm in January. January brings highs of -2 °C, July highs of 24 °C. The climate in Chesley →
Beaches
5 unnamed beaches near Chesley
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.
Things to do
Outdoors around Chesley: 16 places to go
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
Playgrounds lead the count with 7.
Every named place, with directions
Nature reserves 1
Saugeen Bluffs Conservation Area1.9 km from town
DirectionsPicnic sites 2
Plus 2 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 7
Plus 7 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 4
Paisley Rotary Riverside Campgroundin town
DirectionsCedar Rail Family Campground0.9 km from town
DirectionsPlus 2 campsites without a name on the map.
Slipways 2
Saugeen River Access 121.4 km from town
DirectionsPlus 1 slipway without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Next door
Next to Chesley
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page. Chesley has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 21–27 km out.
Port ElginChatsworthWalkertonHanoverOwen SoundChesley
Under 1%1–5%5–15%15–40%40%+
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chesley | 0.3% | 19 | 0 | 5 |
| Port Elgin 21 km | 1.6% | 8 | 0 | 25 |
| Chatsworth 24 km | 0.6% | 45 | 1 | 1 |
| Walkerton 26 km | 0.1% | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| Hanover 27 km | 0.1% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Owen Sound 27 km | 1.3% | 33 | 2 | 12 |
More routes are mapped around Owen Sound (2). For protected land, Port Elgin and Owen Sound have twice as much or more.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- National and provincial parks. The nearest national park and the nearest provincial park are always shown when they are within 100 km.
- Walking routes. The list is OpenStreetMap’s, so a missing trail may just be unmapped. The Trans Canada Trail appears where OSM maps it.
- 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. 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. A beach counts when its centre point lies within 5 km of the town’s outline. Names come from the map.
Questions about the outdoors in Chesley
When is the best time for walking in Chesley?
May to August, on the 1991–2020 normals and the daylight: long days, highs of 15 °C or more, light rain for the place.
What is the biggest park or reserve near Chesley?
It is MacGregor Point Provincial Park, a provincial park covering 1,492 ha.
Is there a provincial park near Chesley?
The closest is MacGregor Point Provincial Park, at 9.3 km.
Are there protected areas near Chesley?
Within 10 km, 0.3% of the land lies in protected areas.
What is the nearest national park to Chesley?
The nearest is Bruce Peninsula National Park, 65 km away.
Where can you swim near Chesley?
The beaches mapped within 5 km have no names on the map.
Sources
The sources behind Chesley’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).