First pick
Maplewood Park
Park or garden · 140 m outside town
6.4 ha1.2 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.2 km of path
1.1 km north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
1.5%protected within 10 km
Outdoors in Highland · parks, protected land & trails
The nearest provincial park to Highland is Bronte Creek Provincial Park, 24 km away
For a national park, Rouge National Urban Park is 86 km away. Of the country within 10 km, 1.5% lies in protected areas; the median Canadian town has 2.3%. Biggest among them: Windermere Basin Park, 39 ha, 8.7 km off.
Protected land
1.5%
of the land within 10 km
Typical Canadian town: 2.3%
Protected areas
14
within 10 km, 3 public
Typical Canadian town: 14
Nearest national park
86 km
Rouge National Urban Park
Nearest provincial park
24 km
Bronte Creek Provincial Park
Against other towns
Each figure for Highland, 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. No letter: the outdoors is described for Canadian towns, not graded.
Protected within 10 km1.5%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
Highland sits 17th from last of 40 towns its size for protected land around it
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (6,199 to 6,411 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
Highland1.5%
Towns its size1.6%
Towns in Ontario2.3%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public protected areas
Highland3
Towns its size3
Towns in Ontario4
Typical Canadian town4
Walking routes
Highland0
Towns its size0
Towns in Ontario1
Typical Canadian town0
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hubley NS | 20% | 37% | 32 | 3 | 4 |
| 2 | Hautes-Plaines QC | 19% | 9.8% | 33 | 1 | 4 |
| 3 | Peachland BC | 18% | 0.4% | 22 | 1 | 6 |
| 4 | Fitzroy ON | 16% | 1.7% | 52 | 0 | 17 |
| 5 | Pineview ON | 15% | 0% | 35 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | Dutch Settlement NS | 8.7% | 15% | 69 | 10 | 8 |
| 7 | Nouveau Greenfield Park QC | 6.9% | 0% | 19 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | Lac-Brome QC | 6.8% | 1.7% | 55 | 0 | 6 |
| 9 | Beaver County AB | 6.8% | 7.7% | 143 | 2 | 0 |
| 10 | Les Coteaux QC | 6.7% | 0.2% | 9 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Fatima QC | 6.6% | 4.5% | 26 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | Cachet ON | 6.6% | 0% | 31 | 1 | 1 |
| 13 | Turnball ON | 6.1% | 39% | 20 | 3 | 1 |
| 14 | Beasley ON | 5.1% | 0% | 23 | 1 | 3 |
| 15 | Woodhill ON | 4.1% | 16% | 14 | 2 | 1 |
| 16 | Electoral Area C, Peace River BC | 1.9% | 1% | 14 | 0 | 2 |
| 17 | Heritage Park ON | 1.9% | 0% | 22 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | Munster - Ashton ON | 1.6% | 1.1% | 28 | 7 | 2 |
| 19 | Osgoode - Vernon ON | 1.6% | 0.8% | 21 | 0 | 4 |
| 20 | Mcquesten West ON | 1.6% | 0% | 14 | 1 | 9 |
| 21 | Cherry Hill ON | 1.6% | 0% | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Woodstock NB | 1.5% | 0% | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Willow Creek No. 26 AB | 1.5% | 0.2% | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Highland ON | 1.5% | 0% | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Valley Park ON | 1.4% | 0% | 15 | 3 | 0 |
| 26 | Sargent Park MB | 1.4% | 0% | 23 | 1 | 0 |
| 27 | Greystone Heights SK | 1.4% | 0% | 14 | 0 | 3 |
| 28 | Grosvenor Park SK | 1.4% | 0% | 17 | 0 | 3 |
| 29 | Neepawa MB | 1% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Lanark Highlands ON | 0.5% | 0.3% | 11 | 0 | 6 |
| 31 | St. Paul AB | 0.5% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Mission AB | 0.4% | 0% | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 33 | Crescent Heights AB | 0.3% | 0% | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 34 | Duggan AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Princeville QC | 0.2% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 36 | Ste. Anne MB | 0.2% | 0.9% | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 37 | Beauceville QC | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 38 | The Orchards At Ellerslie AB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 39 | Bay Roberts NL | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| 40 | Mildmay ON | 0% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
The map
Highland on the map: green space, protected land and paths
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
4 named parks and woods to walk in near Highland
Maplewood Park is the largest, at 6.4 ha; the rest follow by size, numbered as on the map.
4 named parks and woods, 12 ha in all
Parks & gardens 12 ha
Two places, Maplewood Park and Cline Park, make up 72% of the total.
Eringate Park
Park or garden
2.2 ha0.9 km of path
15 minto walk all 0.9 km of path
0.8 km north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Cline Park
Park or garden
2.6 ha0.2 km of path
Centralin the middle of Highland
Directionsto a point inside
Maplewood Green Park
Park or garden · 250 m outside town
1.3 ha0.3 km of path
0.9 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 Highland 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%)
Highland100%
Towns in Ontario90%
Typical Canadian town83%
It is above the typical Canadian town (83%).
Protected areas
Around Highland, protected areas make up 1.5%
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
Inside Highland0%
Within 10 km1.5%
Towns in Ontario2.3%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Of the 14, 3 are public land; the others are privately held. Windermere Basin Park is the biggest, 39 ha. 11 areas belong to private owners or land trusts and aren’t named here.
Former Upper Ottawa LandfillNature reserve · 11 ha · 3.4 km from the edge of town
WattieProtected area · 1.8 ha · 4.7 km from the edge of town
Windermere Basin ParkNature reserve · 39 ha · 8.7 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
86 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
24 km north6.8 km²since 1975
National urban park
Rouge National Urban Park
86 km north-east46 km²since 2015
Nearer still is Bronte Creek Provincial Park, a provincial park 24 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
Highland has 17 km of footpaths in and around it
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
17 km
in and around the town (10.1 km²)
Woodland
2.9%
about 0.3 km² of mapped woods
Footpaths · km per km²
HighlandTowns in OntarioTypical Canadian town
Footpaths1.7
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
HighlandTowns in OntarioTypical Canadian town
Woodland2.9%
0%50%100%
For woods, 70% of Canadian towns have more. It has more footpath per km² than 51% 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 named walking route passes Highland 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.
The map shows no named route near the neighbourhood. That says more about OpenStreetMap’s coverage than about the paths on the ground.
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 Highland: May, June, August and September
Daylight at the town’s latitude and ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals (Hamilton, 13 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 | 13.3 | 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 |
The wettest month is the warmest, July (98 mm); February has 53 mm. The warmest days come in July (27 °C highs), the coldest in January (-1 °C). Winter brings about 141 cm of snow. The climate in Highland →
Things to do
Outdoors around Highland: 23 places to go
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: 21 on the map.
Every named place, with directions
Nature reserves 1
Eramosa Karst Conservation Area1.0 km from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 21
Plus 21 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks 1
Plus 1 dog park without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Gardens to visit
The garden near Highland: Royal Botanical Gardens, 14 km off
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 · 14 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 Highland
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page.
FelkerValley ParkTrinityAlbionVincentBinbrookHighland
Under 1%1–5%5–15%15–40%40%+
Albion has the most mapped walking routes nearby: 5. Its neighbours have no more than twice Highland’s protected share.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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.
- 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. The 10 km band starts at the town’s outline, not its centre, so a large municipality reaches further than a small town.
Questions about the outdoors in Highland
What is the nearest provincial park to Highland?
Bronte Creek Provincial Park, 24 km from the edge of town.
How much land around Highland is protected?
Protected areas cover 1.5% of the land within 10 km.
When is the best time for walking in Highland?
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.
Which is the biggest protected area near Highland?
It is Windermere Basin Park, a nature reserve covering 39 ha.
How far is Highland from a national park?
Rouge National Urban Park is closest, at 86 km.
Sources
Where Highland’s 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.
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).