First pick
William McCulloch Park
Park or garden
6.8 ha1.2 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.2 km of path
Centralin the middle of Gilbert
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: JFVoll · CC BY-SA 4.07.2%protected within 10 km
Outdoors in Gilbert · parks, protected land & trails
Bronte Creek Provincial Park, 22 km away, is the closest provincial park to Gilbert
Within 10 km of the town, 7.2% of the land is protected, against 2.3% around a typical Canadian town. One named trail is close: the Bruce Trail - Iroquoia section. A drive of 88 km reaches Rouge National Urban Park, the nearest national park.
Protected land
7.2%
of the land within 10 km
Typical Canadian town: 2.3%
Protected areas
16
within 10 km, 2 public
Typical Canadian town: 14
Nearest national park
88 km
Rouge National Urban Park
Nearest provincial park
22 km
Bronte Creek Provincial Park
Walking routes
1
named, within 2 km (OpenStreetMap)
Against other towns
Each figure for Gilbert, 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. Canada’s grades don’t include the outdoors, so this page compares the figures rather than grading them.
Protected within 10 km7.2%Share of the land and water within 10 km of the town’s edge in a protected or conserved area
Protected in town0%Share of the town’s own area in a protected or conserved area
Public protected areas2Areas within 10 km held by a government or an Indigenous nation
Walking routes1Named OpenStreetMap walking and hiking routes with 300 m+ within 2 km
CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC, 2026), OpenStreetMap (November 2026). Distances from the town’s outline.
Towns its size
Among 40 towns its size, Gilbert ranks 16th for protected land within 10 km
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (3,128 to 3,234 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
Gilbert7.2%
Towns its size4.6%
Towns in Ontario2.3%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public protected areas
Gilbert2
Towns its size7
Towns in Ontario4
Typical Canadian town4
Walking routes
Gilbert1
Towns its size0
Towns in Ontario1
Typical Canadian town0
Among its peers, Gilbert’s strong point is protected land nearby, where 15 of 39 top it. On public protected areas it is behind: 30 of 39 have more.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pincher Creek No. 9 AB | 32% | 30% | 74 | 11 | 43 |
| 2 | Electoral Area C (Part 1), Kitimat-Stikine BC | 21% | 17% | 36 | 0 | 84 |
| 3 | Saint-Alexis-des-Monts QC | 16% | 12% | 43 | 15 | 8 |
| 4 | Welcome Beach BC | 15% | 8.8% | 37 | 0 | 60 |
| 5 | Percé QC | 15% | 2.2% | 39 | 2 | 20 |
| 6 | Queensway Terrace North ON | 12% | 0% | 26 | 4 | 6 |
| 7 | New Maryland NB | 11% | 25% | 28 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | North Cypress-Langford MB | 9.8% | 6.1% | 44 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | French River / Rivière des Français ON | 9.5% | 8.1% | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré QC | 9.1% | 0.2% | 31 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Roblin MB | 8.8% | 0.5% | 37 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Saint-David-de-Falardeau QC | 8.6% | 3.7% | 13 | 0 | 3 |
| 13 | Chalk River ON | 8.2% | 1% | 29 | 0 | 21 |
| 14 | Beaumont QC | 7.7% | 0.1% | 42 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | Kingsclear NB | 7.4% | 7.7% | 31 | 1 | 14 |
| 16 | Gilbert ON | 7.2% | 0% | 16 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | Paspébiac QC | 6.5% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| 18 | Electoral Area D, North Okanagan BC | 6.2% | 6.4% | 26 | 0 | 10 |
| 19 | Adstock QC | 5% | 8.3% | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| 20 | Marathon ON | 4.6% | 3% | 4 | 1 | 30 |
| 21 | St. Clair ON | 4.5% | 0% | 23 | 1 | 3 |
| 22 | Blakeley ON | 4.1% | 0% | 22 | 1 | 3 |
| 23 | Val-Morin QC | 2.5% | 5.7% | 13 | 0 | 4 |
| 24 | Cedar Hill ON | 1.9% | 0% | 21 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Garrison Woods AB | 1.9% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Greater Madawaska ON | 1.8% | 1.6% | 10 | 1 | 8 |
| 27 | Minburn County No. 27 AB | 1.2% | 0.9% | 120 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Thorhild County AB | 1.2% | 1.9% | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Erlton AB | 1.2% | 0% | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 30 | Jasper Park AB | 1.1% | 0% | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 31 | Sturgeon Creek MB | 1% | 0% | 9 | 1 | 37 |
| 32 | Mont-Saint-Grégoire QC | 0.9% | 0.8% | 12 | 1 | 1 |
| 33 | Lower Mount Royal AB | 0.6% | 0% | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 34 | Adelaide-Metcalfe ON | 0.3% | 0% | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Westgate AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | Brookside AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 37 | Enniskillen ON | 0.2% | 0.3% | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Valhalla MB | 0.2% | 0.6% | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Bishop's Falls NL | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 40 | Crystallina Nera West AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The map
The green map of Gilbert
The neighbourhood’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
Walk in Gilbert: 5 named parks and woods
The biggest is William McCulloch Park, 6.8 ha. Biggest first, numbered as on the map.
5 named parks and woods, 15 ha in all
Parks & gardens 15 ha
Between them, William McCulloch Park and Gilkson Park cover 76%.
Gilkson Park
Park or garden · 270 m outside town
4.7 ha0.4 km of path
0.8 km south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Newlands Park
Park or garden · 90 m outside town
1.9 ha0.8 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.8 km of path
Centralin the middle of Gilbert
Directionsto a point inside
Fonthill Park
Park or garden · 150 m outside town
1.6 ha
0.7 km westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
King's Mead Park
Park or garden · 110 m outside town
0.2 ha
Centralin the middle of Gilbert
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
Every resident of Gilbert lives 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 (100%)Further (0%)
Gilbert100%
Towns in Ontario90%
Typical Canadian town83%
It is above the typical Canadian town (83%).
Protected areas
Around Gilbert, protected areas make up 7.2%
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
Inside Gilbert0%
Within 10 km7.2%
Towns in Ontario2.3%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Governments hold 2 of the 16, and private owners the rest. Farmer is the biggest, 15 ha. 14 areas belong to private owners or land trusts and aren’t named here.
Former Upper Ottawa LandfillNature reserve · 11 ha · 6.4 km from the edge of town
FarmerProtected area · 15 ha · 6.5 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
88 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
Bronte Creek Provincial Park
22 km north-east6.8 km²since 1975
National urban park
Rouge National Urban Park
88 km north-east46 km²since 2015
Closer to home, Bronte Creek Provincial Park is 22 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
Gilbert and its edge hold 18 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
18 km
in and around the town (7.4 km²)
Woodland
1.5%
about 0.1 km² of mapped woods
Footpaths · km per km²
GilbertTowns in OntarioTypical Canadian town
Footpaths2.5
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
GilbertTowns in OntarioTypical Canadian town
Woodland1.5%
0%50%100%
It has more footpath per km² than 63% of Canadian towns. For woods, 78% of Canadian towns have more.
Source: OpenStreetMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Mapping varies by place: a dense figure can mean keen local mappers as much as many paths.
Walking routes
1 walking route near Gilbert
Named walking and hiking routes on OpenStreetMap with at least 300 m within 2 km of the town, longest first; national routes lead.
Regional
Bruce Trail - Iroquoia section124.0 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 Gilbert: May, June, August and September
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals from Hamilton (7.0 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) | 9.3 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°C) | -1 | -1 | 5 | 12 | 19 | 24 | 27 | 26 | 22 | 15 | 8 | 2 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 73 | 53 | 69 | 81 | 81 | 78 | 98 | 67 | 74 | 84 | 78 | 67 |
July brings both the warmest days and the most rain (98 mm); February is driest (53 mm). From -1 °C in January to 27 °C in July: that is the range of daytime highs. The climate in Gilbert →
Things to do
Gilbert has 1 viewpoints and 8 waterfalls nearby
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
The most common are playgrounds: 55 on the map.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 1
Plus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Waterfalls 8
Chedoke Falls1.2 km from town
DirectionsCliffview Falls1.3 km from town
DirectionsUpper Sanatorium Falls1.3 km from town
DirectionsLower Sanatorium Cascade1.4 km from town
DirectionsLower Cliffview Falls1.5 km from town
DirectionsLower Westcliffe Falls1.5 km from town
DirectionsMountview Falls1.6 km from town
DirectionsPlus 1 waterfall without a name on the map.
Picnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 55
Fonthill Park Playground0.2 km from town
DirectionsPlus 54 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Gardens to visit
Royal Botanical Gardens, 7.2 km from Gilbert, is the garden to visit
Gardens and arboretums within 15 km of the town’s edge, and the historic gardens, parks and estates in the town itself, nearest first.
Royal Botanical GardensNational Historic Site · 7.2 km from town
Its pageOne carries a national designation.
Sources: OpenStreetMap (leisure=garden), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL, and Wikidata (CC0), as gathered in TownRatings’ Canadian attractions set; historic places from Parks Canada’s Directory of Federal Heritage Designations, the Canadian Register of Historic Places and Québec’s Répertoire du patrimoine culturel.
Next door
Next to Gilbert
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page.
FessendenWestcliffe EastGilksonRolstonBuchananGurnettGilbert
Under 1%1–5%5–15%15–40%40%+
No place nearby has double Gilbert’s share of protected land.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Private land. Areas held by land trusts or private owners stay unnamed here, though they count in the shares.
- 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.
- 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.
Questions about the outdoors in Gilbert
How far is the nearest provincial park from Gilbert?
Bronte Creek Provincial Park, 22 km from the edge of town.
Are there protected areas near Gilbert?
Protected areas cover 7.2% of the land within 10 km.
Where can you walk near Gilbert?
Try the Bruce Trail - Iroquoia section.
When should you visit Gilbert for the outdoors?
May, June, August and September: long days, mild highs and little rain.
What is the biggest park or reserve near Gilbert?
Farmer: 15 ha, a protected area.
What is the nearest national park to Gilbert?
Rouge National Urban Park is closest, at 88 km.
Sources
The sources behind Gilbert’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.
Gardens: OpenStreetMap (leisure=garden) and Wikidata gardens within 15 km, as gathered in TownRatings’ Canadian attractions set; historic gardens and parks from Canada’s heritage registers (Parks Canada DFHD, the Canadian Register of Historic Places, Québec’s Répertoire du patrimoine culturel).
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).