First pick
William Connell City-Wide Park
Park or garden · 180 m outside town
22 ha4.3 km of path
55 minto walk all 4.3 km of path
1.1 km southfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
6.5%protected within 10 km
Outdoors in Gourley · parks, protected land & trails
Bronte Creek Provincial Park, 23 km away, is the closest provincial park to Gourley
Out to 10 km from the town’s edge, 6.5% of the land is protected; 2.3% is typical for a Canadian town. 88 km separate the town from Rouge National Urban Park, its nearest national park. 9.9 km out lies the largest, Windermere Basin Park, at 39 ha.
Protected land
6.5%
of the land within 10 km
Typical Canadian town: 2.3%
Protected areas
17
within 10 km, 3 public
Typical Canadian town: 14
Nearest national park
88 km
Rouge National Urban Park
Nearest provincial park
23 km
Bronte Creek Provincial Park
Against other towns
Each figure for Gourley, 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 km6.5%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 areas3Areas 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
Gourley comes 12th of 40 towns its size for protected land around it
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (5,185 to 5,358 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
Gourley6.5%
Towns its size1.5%
Towns in Ontario2.3%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public protected areas
Gourley3
Towns its size3
Towns in Ontario4
Typical Canadian town4
Walking routes
Gourley0
Towns its size0
Towns in Ontario1
Typical Canadian town0
Among its peers, Gourley’s strong point is protected land nearby, where 11 of 39 top it.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grand Bay-Westfield NB | 29% | 1% | 21 | 1 | 39 |
| 2 | Oliver BC | 19% | 0.8% | 24 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Metchosin BC | 18% | 9.6% | 31 | 2 | 22 |
| 4 | Lake Echo NS | 16% | 33% | 25 | 2 | 5 |
| 5 | Montréal-Ouest QC | 16% | 0% | 24 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | Upper Tantallon NS | 13% | 19% | 157 | 3 | 12 |
| 7 | Témiscouata-sur-le-Lac QC | 11% | 1% | 3 | 6 | 3 |
| 8 | Saint-Denis-de-Brompton QC | 9.4% | 1.6% | 19 | 2 | 3 |
| 9 | Electoral Area L, Cariboo BC | 9.1% | 9.1% | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Central Frontenac ON | 8.2% | 8.2% | 39 | 1 | 7 |
| 11 | The Ravines of Rainbow Creek ON | 6.9% | 8.2% | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Gourley ON | 6.5% | 0% | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Uplands SK | 5.4% | 0% | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Trumpeter Area AB | 5.4% | 1.6% | 9 | 7 | 0 |
| 15 | Electoral Area B, Central Kootenay BC | 4.5% | 7.4% | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Aldergrove AB | 3.7% | 0% | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Crown Point East ON | 3.1% | 0% | 23 | 1 | 6 |
| 18 | Southdale ON | 1.9% | 0% | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Waverley Heights MB | 1.7% | 0% | 22 | 0 | 1 |
| 20 | Normand Park MB | 1.5% | 3.1% | 18 | 0 | 1 |
| 21 | South West Industrial SK | 1.4% | 0% | 19 | 0 | 1 |
| 22 | Mount Royal SK | 1.3% | 0% | 16 | 0 | 3 |
| 23 | Westdale MB | 1% | 1% | 10 | 0 | 37 |
| 24 | Marystown NL | 0.6% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 25 | St. Boniface Industrial Park MB | 0.6% | 0.1% | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Deer Lake NL | 0.4% | 3.8% | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| 27 | Norwood ON | 0.3% | 0% | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 28 | Bannerman AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 29 | Bearspaw AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 30 | Ogilvie Ridge AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 31 | Belmont AB | 0.2% | 0% | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 32 | Kirkness AB | 0.2% | 0% | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 33 | Saint-Cyrille-de-Wendover QC | 0.1% | 0.5% | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 34 | Edmonton Energy And Technology Park AB | 0.1% | 0.8% | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 35 | Ritchie AB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 36 | Tweddle Place AB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 37 | Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce QC | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 38 | Carstairs AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Didsbury AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Belvedere AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The map
Parks, woods and paths around Gourley
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
8 named parks and woods to walk in near Gourley
Largest first: William Connell City-Wide Park leads with 22 ha. Numbers match the map.
8 named parks and woods, 60 ha in all
Parks & gardens 58 haWoods 2.8 ha
William Connell City-Wide Park and Garth Reservoir Park together hold 52% of it.
Captain Cornelius Park
Park or garden · 280 m outside town
8.8 ha1.5 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.5 km of path
0.8 km north-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Garth Reservoir Park
Park or garden
9.3 ha0.1 km of path
0.8 km south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
William McCulloch Park
Park or garden · 350 m outside town
6.8 ha1.2 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.2 km of path
1.4 km north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Gourley Park
Park or garden
5.7 ha0.8 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.8 km of path
Centralin the middle of Gourley
Directionsto a point inside
Dr William Bethune Park
Park or garden · 230 m outside town
4.4 ha0.3 km of path
1.4 km south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Rolston Forest
Wood or forest · 280 m outside town
2.8 ha0.5 km of path
0.9 km north-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Kernighan Neighbourhood Park
Park or garden
0.5 ha0.1 km of path
0.7 km south-eastfrom 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 Gourley 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%)
Gourley100%
Towns in Ontario90%
Typical Canadian town83%
The usual figure for a Canadian town is 83%, lower than here.
Protected areas
Around Gourley, protected areas make up 6.5%
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
Inside Gourley0%
Within 10 km6.5%
Towns in Ontario2.3%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Of those 17, 3 are public and the remainder private. The largest named one is Windermere Basin Park, at 39 ha. 14 areas belong to private owners or land trusts and aren’t named here.
Former Upper Ottawa LandfillNature reserve · 11 ha · 4.7 km from the edge of town
FarmerProtected area · 15 ha · 7.2 km from the edge of town
Windermere Basin ParkNature reserve · 39 ha · 9.9 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
Rouge National Urban Park, 88 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
Bronte Creek Provincial Park
23 km north-east6.8 km²since 1975
National urban park
Rouge National Urban Park
88 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
Gourley 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
22 km
in and around the town (9.9 km²)
Woodland
2.7%
about 0.3 km² of mapped woods
Footpaths · km per km²
GourleyTowns in OntarioTypical Canadian town
Footpaths2.2
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
GourleyTowns in OntarioTypical Canadian town
Woodland2.7%
0%50%100%
It is less wooded than 71% of Canadian towns. It has more footpath per km² than 59% 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
No mapped walking route near Gourley
Named walking and hiking routes on OpenStreetMap with at least 300 m within 2 km of the town, longest first; national routes lead.
OpenStreetMap lists no walking route near the neighbourhood, though paths on the ground may well exist.
Source: OpenStreetMap (route relations hiking, foot and walking), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Trans Canada Trail sections as OSM maps them.
When to get out
Gourley is best on foot in May, June, August and September
Daylight at the town’s latitude and ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals (Hamilton, 6.3 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 |
Summer brings the most rain: 98 mm in July; February gets 53 mm. July is the warmest month, with highs around 27 °C; January the coldest, at -1 °C. The climate in Gourley →
Things to do
Outdoors around Gourley: 80 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 79 playgrounds, the biggest group.
Every named place, with directions
Picnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 79
Jerome Park0.7 km from town
DirectionsFonthill Park Playground1.1 km from town
DirectionsPlus 77 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 Gourley, 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 pageParks Canada lists one as a National Historic Site.
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 Gourley
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page.
RolstonGilksonJeromeGilbertFalkirk EastBuchananGourley
Under 1%1–5%5–15%15–40%40%+
Around Gourley, nobody nearby has double its protected land.
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. The 10 km band starts at the town’s outline, not its centre, so a large municipality reaches further than a small town.
- 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.
Questions about the outdoors in Gourley
Is Gourley near a national park?
Rouge National Urban Park is closest, at 88 km.
Is there protected land near Gourley?
Within 10 km, 6.5% of the land lies in protected areas.
What is the largest protected area near Gourley?
Windermere Basin Park: 39 ha, a nature reserve.
What is the best season to get outdoors in Gourley?
May, June, August and September: long days, mild highs and little rain.
How far is the nearest provincial park from Gourley?
Bronte Creek Provincial Park, 23 km from the edge of town.
Sources
Sources for this page on Gourley
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).