First pick
Paddle-to-the-Sea Park
Park or garden
0.5 ha0.2 km of path
1.1 km north-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Andre Carrotflower · CC BY-SA 4.019%protected within 10 km
Outdoors in Nipigon · parks, protected land & trails
The boundary of Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area runs along Nipigon
Within 10 km of the town, 19% of the land is protected, against 2.3% around a typical Canadian town. OpenStreetMap shows one walking route nearby, the Nipigon Recreation Trail. Some protected land is inside the town: 5.9% of its area.
Protected land
19%
of the land within 10 km
Typical Canadian town: 2.3%
Protected areas
10
within 10 km, 5 public
Typical Canadian town: 14
Nearest national park
At the edge
Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area
Nearest provincial park
At the edge
Black Sturgeon River Provincial Park
Walking routes
1
named, within 2 km (OpenStreetMap)
Character
What Nipigon has going for it outdoors
Each figure against Canadian towns of 2,500+; tap a tile for the detail.
Next to a national parkLake Superior National Marine Conservation Area starts at the edge of townProtected land all round19% of the land within 10 km, more than 95% of Canadian townsOn a national routeThe Nipigon Recreation Trail passes within 2 kmA provincial park at the edgeBlack Sturgeon River Provincial Park reaches the town
Above all, Nipigon offers Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area on its doorstep, with protected land around it close behind.
Against other towns
How Nipigon compares with 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 km19%Share of the land and water within 10 km of the town’s edge in a protected or conserved area
Protected in town5.9%Share of the town’s own area in a protected or conserved area
Public protected areas5Areas 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, Nipigon ranks 3rd for protected land within 10 km
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (1,624 to 2,587 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
Nipigon19%
Towns its size1.6%
Towns in Ontario2.3%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public protected areas
Nipigon5
Towns its size4
Towns in Ontario4
Typical Canadian town4
Walking routes
Nipigon1
Towns its size0
Towns in Ontario1
Typical Canadian town0
Against towns its size, Nipigon does best for protected land nearby: 2 of the other 39 have more.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anmore BC | 22% | 47% | 16 | 5 | 98 |
| 2 | Saint-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska QC | 19% | 0% | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Nipigon ON | 19% | 5.9% | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | Gracefield QC | 19% | 19% | 34 | 0 | 6 |
| 5 | East Preston NS | 16% | 6.3% | 20 | 1 | 5 |
| 6 | Clearwater BC | 7.7% | 4.1% | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | Roberval QC | 6.1% | 1.2% | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague QC | 5.8% | 0% | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | North Frontenac ON | 5.7% | 5.2% | 13 | 6 | 4 |
| 10 | Cap-Chat QC | 5.3% | 0.4% | 13 | 0 | 10 |
| 11 | Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards ON | 4.4% | 1.5% | 9 | 0 | 4 |
| 12 | Saint-Polycarpe QC | 4.2% | 0% | 11 | 0 | 2 |
| 13 | Macassa ON | 4.1% | 0% | 18 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | Saint-Damien QC | 4% | 3.2% | 22 | 1 | 9 |
| 15 | Unity SK | 3.4% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Sherwood ON | 3.4% | 0% | 19 | 2 | 0 |
| 17 | McNab SK | 2.6% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 18 | Mandeville QC | 2.5% | 1.8% | 19 | 4 | 7 |
| 19 | Esterhazy SK | 1.8% | 0% | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | City Commercial Core ON | 1.8% | 0% | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Caswell Hill SK | 1.4% | 0% | 16 | 0 | 3 |
| 22 | Fossambault-sur-le-Lac QC | 1.3% | 7.8% | 15 | 0 | 14 |
| 23 | Pembina MB | 1.1% | 1.8% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Burrows-Keewatin MB | 1% | 0% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Elmwood AB | 0.8% | 0% | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 26 | Hatley QC | 0.7% | 0% | 9 | 0 | 5 |
| 27 | Munroe West MB | 0.4% | 0% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Brooke-Alvinston ON | 0.3% | 0.2% | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Rosedale AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 30 | Minchau AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 31 | Lunenburg NS | 0.1% | 0% | 19 | 0 | 5 |
| 32 | Salisbury NB | 0.1% | 2.1% | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Dufferin MB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Ekota AB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 35 | Satoo AB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 36 | Saint-Éphrem-de-Beauce QC | 0% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 37 | Magrath AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Nanton AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Rimbey AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Sexsmith AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The map
Parks, woods and paths around Nipigon
The town’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
A named park or wood to walk in near Nipigon
The biggest is Paddle-to-the-Sea Park, 0.5 ha. Biggest first, numbered as on the map.
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
About 2 in 10 of Nipigon’s residents are a short walk from 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 (24%)Further (76%)
Nipigon24%
Towns in Ontario90%
Typical Canadian town83%
That is below the typical Canadian town (83%). That leaves about 1,200 people more than a short walk away.
Protected areas
Around Nipigon, protected areas make up 19%
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
Inside Nipigon5.9%
Within 10 km19%
Towns in Ontario2.3%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Governments hold 5 of the 10, and private owners the rest. The largest named one is Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area, at 1,088,000 ha. Another 5 are privately owned conservation land; they count in the figures but aren’t named, as private land isn’t a place to visit.
Lake Superior National Marine Conservation AreaNational marine conservation area · 1,088,000 ha · reaches Nipigon
Black Sturgeon River Provincial ParkProvincial park · 24,097 ha · reaches Nipigon
Ruby Lake Provincial ParkProvincial park · 2,734 ha · reaches Nipigon
Nipigon River Conservation ReserveNature reserve · 2,650 ha · 2.0 km from the edge of town
Lake Superior Archipelago Conservation ReserveNature reserve · 51,221 ha · 5.0 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
The parks within reach of Nipigon
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
National marine conservation area
Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area
At the edge10,880 km²since 2007
Provincial park
Black Sturgeon River Provincial Park
At the edge241 km²since 2002
Provincial park
Ruby Lake Provincial Park
At the edge27 km²since 2002
2 provincial parks lie within 10 km.
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
Footpaths and woods
Nipigon and its edge hold 39 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
39 km
in and around the town (166.8 km²)
Woodland
86%
about 143.1 km² of mapped woods
Footpaths · km per km²
NipigonTowns in OntarioTypical Canadian town
Footpaths0.2
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
NipigonTowns in OntarioTypical Canadian town
Woodland86%
0%50%100%
It is more wooded than 98% of Canadian towns. It has fewer paths per km² than 76% 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
Nipigon is on the Nipigon Recreation Trail
Named walking and hiking routes on OpenStreetMap with at least 300 m within 2 km of the town, longest first; national routes lead.
National
Nipigon Recreation Trail9.9 km
The Nipigon Recreation Trail (10 km) keeps within 2 km of town for 9.7 km.
Source: OpenStreetMap (route relations hiking, foot and walking), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Trans Canada Trail sections as OSM maps them.
When to get out
The walking year in Nipigon
Daylight at the town’s latitude and ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals (Geraldton, 130 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) | 8.7 | 10.1 | 11.7 | 13.6 | 15.3 | 16.2 | 15.8 | 14.4 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.1 | 8.2 |
| High (°C) | -8 | -5 | 1 | 9 | 16 | 22 | 25 | 24 | 19 | 11 | 3 | -5 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 36 | 26 | 33 | 49 | 78 | 82 | 108 | 76 | 102 | 84 | 53 | 37 |
Summer brings the most rain: 108 mm in July; February gets 26 mm. January brings highs of -8 °C, July highs of 25 °C. The climate in Nipigon →
Things to do
Nipigon has 3 viewpoints within 2 km
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
There are 6 playgrounds, more than of anything else.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 3
Plus 3 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 2
Plus 2 hills and peaks without a name on the map.
Picnic sites 2
Plus 2 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 6
Plus 6 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Nipigon Marinain town
DirectionsSlipways 3
Plus 3 slipways without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Next door
Next to Nipigon
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page. Distances here run 77–97 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Nipigon.
ShuniahSchreiberTerrace BayThunder Bay, UnorganizedThunder BayNipigon
Under 1%1–5%5–15%15–40%40%+
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nipigon | 19% | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| Shuniah 77 km | 19% | 13 | 1 | 2 |
| Schreiber 77 km | 48% | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| Terrace Bay 89 km | 56% | 9 | 1 | 191 |
| Thunder Bay, Unorganized 92 km | 18% | 136 | 6 | 347 |
| Thunder Bay 97 km | 0.1% | 3 | 0 | 4 |
Schreiber and Terrace Bay have at least twice the protected share around them. Thunder Bay, Unorganized has the most mapped walking routes nearby: 6.
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. The nearest national park and the nearest provincial park are always shown when they are within 100 km.
- Protected land. Protected here means in CPCAD, Canada’s official list: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and other conserved land, measured within 10 km of the town’s edge.
- 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 Nipigon
Is Nipigon near a national park?
It is on the doorstep: Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area touches Nipigon.
What is the nearest provincial park to Nipigon?
Black Sturgeon River Provincial Park begins at the town’s edge.
What is the biggest park or reserve near Nipigon?
Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area: 1,088,000 ha, a national marine conservation area.
Are there protected areas near Nipigon?
Yes: 19% of the land within 10 km is protected.
What walking routes are near Nipigon?
Try the Nipigon Recreation Trail.
Sources
The sources behind Nipigon’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).