First pick
Garth Reservoir Park
Park or garden
9.3 ha0.1 km of path
0.9 km south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
7.1%protected within 10 km
Outdoors in Gilkson · parks, protected land & trails
From Gilkson, Bronte Creek Provincial Park is the nearest provincial park (23 km)
Protected areas cover 7.1% of the land within 10 km; for the typical Canadian town it is 2.3%. The nearest national park is Rouge National Urban Park, 89 km away. The 10 km around town hold 16 protected areas.
Protected land
7.1%
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
89 km
Rouge National Urban Park
Nearest provincial park
23 km
Bronte Creek Provincial Park
Against other towns
Gilkson 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. This page carries no grade, because Canada’s grading doesn’t cover the outdoors; the comparisons are the point.
Protected within 10 km7.1%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 routes0Named 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
Gilkson comes 8th of 40 towns its size for protected land around it
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (2,918 to 3,006 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
Gilkson7.1%
Towns its size1.9%
Towns in Ontario2.3%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public protected areas
Gilkson2
Towns its size2
Towns in Ontario4
Typical Canadian town4
Walking routes
Gilkson0
Towns its size0
Towns in Ontario1
Typical Canadian town0
Gilkson beats most towns its size for protected land nearby; 7 of 39 do better.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cocagne NB | 39% | 4.3% | 6 | 0 | 8 |
| 2 | Electoral Area C, Strathcona BC | 12% | 8.1% | 61 | 0 | 170 |
| 3 | Wawa ON | 11% | 5.1% | 4 | 1 | 38 |
| 4 | Saint-Marc-des-Carrières QC | 10% | 0% | 16 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | McDougall ON | 10% | 4.1% | 16 | 0 | 9 |
| 6 | Lac-des-Écorces QC | 8.8% | 4.5% | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Saint-Roch-de-Richelieu QC | 8.6% | 0.1% | 29 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | Gilkson ON | 7.1% | 0% | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Carpenter ON | 7% | 0% | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Dégelis QC | 6.5% | 5.4% | 23 | 3 | 1 |
| 11 | Buchanan ON | 6.3% | 0% | 22 | 1 | 3 |
| 12 | Suder Greens AB | 5.9% | 0% | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Butler ON | 3.7% | 0% | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | North Shore PE | 3.6% | 7.3% | 19 | 11 | 18 |
| 15 | Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil QC | 3.6% | 0.1% | 26 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Saint-Basile QC | 3.3% | 0% | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Huntingdon QC | 3% | 0% | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Granville AB | 2.5% | 0% | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Lesser Slave River No. 124 AB | 2.4% | 2.2% | 25 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Sainte-Marie-Madeleine QC | 2% | 0% | 29 | 0 | 1 |
| 21 | Holliston SK | 1.8% | 0% | 17 | 0 | 2 |
| 22 | Trillium ON | 1.4% | 0% | 18 | 1 | 5 |
| 23 | Mayfair SK | 1.4% | 0% | 14 | 0 | 3 |
| 24 | Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley QC | 1.3% | 0.7% | 11 | 0 | 7 |
| 25 | East Garafraxa ON | 1.1% | 0.6% | 16 | 4 | 0 |
| 26 | Varsity View MB | 1.1% | 0% | 19 | 1 | 37 |
| 27 | Hillcrest Management Area SK | 0.9% | 0% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Wallace-Woodworth MB | 0.8% | 0.1% | 32 | 0 | 1 |
| 29 | Saint-Bruno QC | 0.6% | 0% | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| 30 | Sunnyside AB | 0.4% | 0% | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 31 | Stanstead QC | 0.3% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 32 | Lauderdale AB | 0.3% | 0% | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 33 | Skyrattler AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 34 | Markstay-Warren ON | 0.2% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Allendale AB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 36 | Avonmore AB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 37 | Division No. 1, Subdivision E NL | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 38 | Scott QC | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Carrington AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Lago Lindo AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The map
Parks, woods and paths around Gilkson
Green space, woods, protected areas and footpaths in and around the neighbourhood; 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 Gilkson: 5 named parks and woods
Garth Reservoir Park is the largest, at 9.3 ha; the rest follow by size, numbered as on the map.
5 named parks and woods, 25 ha in all
Parks & gardens 25 ha
Between them, Garth Reservoir Park and William McCulloch Park cover 65%.
William McCulloch Park
Park or garden · 240 m outside town
6.8 ha1.2 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.2 km of path
1.0 km north-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Gilkson Park
Park or garden
4.7 ha0.4 km of path
Centralin the middle of Gilkson
Directionsto a point inside
Shawinigan Park
Park or garden · 220 m outside town
2.4 ha0.2 km of path
0.7 km westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Fonthill Park
Park or garden · 200 m outside town
1.6 ha
1.0 km northfrom 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
All of Gilkson is within a short walk of 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%)
Gilkson100%
Towns in Ontario90%
Typical Canadian town83%
It is above the typical Canadian town (83%).
Protected areas
7.1% of the land around Gilkson is protected
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
Inside Gilkson0%
Within 10 km7.1%
Towns in Ontario2.3%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Of those 16, 2 are public and the remainder private. At 15 ha, Farmer is the largest. 14 more areas within 10 km are private land, held by landowners or conservation groups: counted here, not named.
FarmerProtected area · 15 ha · 6.3 km from the edge of town
Former Upper Ottawa LandfillNature reserve · 11 ha · 6.4 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
89 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
23 km north-east6.8 km²since 1975
National urban park
Rouge National Urban Park
89 km north-east46 km²since 2015
A provincial park is closer: Bronte Creek Provincial Park, at 23 km.
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
Footpaths and woods
Paths to walk: 20 km in and around Gilkson
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
20 km
in and around the town (7.6 km²)
Woodland
5.8%
about 0.4 km² of mapped woods
Footpaths · km per km²
GilksonTowns in OntarioTypical Canadian town
Footpaths2.6
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
GilksonTowns in OntarioTypical Canadian town
Woodland5.8%
0%50%100%
For woods, 58% of Canadian towns have more. Few places match it for paths: more than 65% of Canadian towns have fewer.
Source: OpenStreetMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Mapping varies by place: a dense figure can mean keen local mappers as much as many paths.
Walking routes
No named walking route passes Gilkson on the map
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 route shows within 2 km of the neighbourhood; volunteers map trails unevenly from one region to the next.
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 Gilkson: May, June, August and September
Daylight at the town’s latitude and ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals (Hamilton, 6.0 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) | 9.3 | 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). January brings highs of -1 °C, July highs of 27 °C. The climate in Gilkson →
Things to do
Outdoors around Gilkson: 58 places to go
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
57 playgrounds top the list.
Every named place, with directions
Picnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 57
Fonthill Park Playground0.3 km from town
DirectionsPlus 56 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Gardens to visit
Royal Botanical Gardens, 8.1 km from Gilkson, 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 · 8.1 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 Gilkson
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page.
Falkirk EastGurnettGilbertGourleyFessendenLampmanGilkson
Under 1%1–5%5–15%15–40%40%+
No neighbouring place reaches twice Gilkson’s protected share.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Private land. Private conservation land is in the totals, not the lists. Many such areas are easements on working farms or woodlots.
- Protected land. CPCAD maps each protected area; the page counts how much of the 10 km around the town they cover, lakes and sea included.
- Walking routes. The list is OpenStreetMap’s, so a missing trail may just be unmapped. The Trans Canada Trail appears where OSM maps it.
- 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.
Questions about the outdoors in Gilkson
How far is Gilkson from a national park?
The nearest is Rouge National Urban Park, 89 km away.
What is the best season to get outdoors in Gilkson?
On the normals, May, June, August and September: that is when days are long, highs reach 15 °C and rain is light.
Are there protected areas near Gilkson?
Protected areas cover 7.1% of the land within 10 km.
What is the biggest park or reserve near Gilkson?
Farmer: 15 ha, a protected area.
Is there a provincial park near Gilkson?
The closest is Bronte Creek Provincial Park, at 23 km.
Sources
The sources behind Gilkson’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).