First pick
Thomson Park
Park or garden
9.7 ha2.6 km of path
35 minto walk all 2.6 km of path
Centralin the middle of North Bay
Kinsmen TrailKinsman Trail
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Hayden Soloviev · CC BY 4.07.4%protected within 10 km
Outdoors in North Bay · parks, protected land & trails
North Bay has more protected land around it than 8 in 10 Canadian towns
Swimmers have 13 beaches within 5 km, Birchhaven Cove Beach the nearest. Named trails close by number 4, the South Duchesnay Valley Trail and West Duchesnay Falls Trail among them. Within 100 km there is no national park.
Protected land
7.4%
of the land within 10 km
Typical Canadian town: 2.3%
Protected areas
4
within 10 km, 4 public
Typical Canadian town: 14
Nearest provincial park
At the edge
Widdifield Forest Provincial Park
Walking routes
4
named, within 2 km (OpenStreetMap)
Beaches
13
within 5 km (OpenStreetMap)
Character
The outdoors in North Bay, in short
Each figure against Canadian towns of 2,500+; tap a tile for the detail.
Protected land all round7.4% of the land within 10 km, more than 80% of Canadian townsWalking routes4 named routes within 2 kmBeaches13 beaches within 5 kmA provincial park at the edgeWiddifield Forest Provincial Park reaches the town
For someone who likes to get outside, North Bay’s draw is protected land around it, with its choice of walking routes close behind.
Against other towns
How North Bay 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. Canada’s grades don’t include the outdoors, so this page compares the figures rather than grading them.
Protected within 10 km7.4%Share of the land and water within 10 km of the town’s edge in a protected or conserved area
Protected in town5.6%Share of the town’s own area in a protected or conserved area
Public protected areas4Areas within 10 km held by a government or an Indigenous nation
Walking routes4Named OpenStreetMap walking and hiking routes with 300 m+ within 2 km
Beaches13Beaches mapped on OpenStreetMap within 5 km
CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC, 2026), OpenStreetMap (November 2026). Distances from the town’s outline.
Towns its size
North Bay comes 13th of 40 towns its size for protected land around it
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (49,527 to 75,618 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
North Bay7.4%
Towns its size2.4%
Towns in Ontario2.3%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public protected areas
North Bay4
Towns its size7
Towns in Ontario4
Typical Canadian town4
Walking routes
North Bay4
Towns its size2
Towns in Ontario1
Typical Canadian town0
Against towns its size, North Bay does best for protected land nearby: 12 of the other 39 have more. On public protected areas it is behind: 22 of 39 have more.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dollard-Des Ormeaux QC | 27% | 3.7% | 40 | 0 | 6 |
| 2 | Langford BC | 27% | 18% | 41 | 7 | 19 |
| 3 | Shawinigan QC | 24% | 61% | 40 | 16 | 10 |
| 4 | Châteauguay QC | 19% | 0.8% | 34 | 0 | 3 |
| 5 | Newton BC | 15% | 7.3% | 174 | 6 | 1 |
| 6 | Port Coquitlam BC | 15% | 5.6% | 125 | 3 | 30 |
| 7 | Pointe-aux-Trembles QC | 9.5% | 7.3% | 38 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | Rimouski QC | 8.8% | 3.6% | 43 | 10 | 48 |
| 9 | Vernon BC | 8.4% | 1.9% | 17 | 0 | 27 |
| 10 | Whalley BC | 8.2% | 1% | 125 | 5 | 7 |
| 11 | Fleetwood BC | 7.8% | 7.9% | 162 | 10 | 0 |
| 12 | North Vancouver BC | 7.5% | 0% | 13 | 4 | 66 |
| 13 | North Bay ON | 7.4% | 5.6% | 4 | 4 | 13 |
| 14 | Mirabel QC | 5.9% | 0.3% | 76 | 1 | 2 |
| 15 | Stouffville ON | 5.9% | 0.5% | 51 | 1 | 1 |
| 16 | Fredericton NB | 4.3% | 0% | 26 | 2 | 16 |
| 17 | Mascouche QC | 4% | 0% | 32 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | St. Albert AB | 3.4% | 2.1% | 7 | 7 | 1 |
| 19 | Welland ON | 3.2% | 0% | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Granby QC | 2.5% | 3.6% | 18 | 0 | 6 |
| 21 | Simcoe ON | 2.3% | 4.7% | 102 | 5 | 36 |
| 22 | Aurora ON | 2.2% | 0.6% | 42 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | Alliston ON | 2.1% | 0.4% | 36 | 2 | 3 |
| 24 | Georgetown ON | 1.8% | 3.5% | 38 | 6 | 2 |
| 25 | Grande Prairie AB | 1.7% | 0% | 6 | 1 | 6 |
| 26 | Quinte West ON | 1.4% | 0.6% | 22 | 3 | 1 |
| 27 | Belleville ON | 1.2% | 1.8% | 18 | 1 | 0 |
| 28 | Blainville QC | 1.1% | 0% | 27 | 2 | 0 |
| 29 | Bradford ON | 1.1% | 1.3% | 28 | 5 | 1 |
| 30 | Brandon MB | 1.1% | 0.9% | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | Saint-Hyacinthe QC | 0.7% | 0% | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Keswick ON | 0.7% | 0.9% | 13 | 1 | 14 |
| 33 | Roseborough ON | 0.7% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Rocky View County AB | 0.5% | 0.6% | 20 | 9 | 19 |
| 35 | Woodstock ON | 0.4% | 0% | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| 36 | Innisfil ON | 0.3% | 0.1% | 6 | 1 | 17 |
| 37 | Victoriaville QC | 0.2% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 38 | Caledonia ON | 0.2% | 0.4% | 17 | 4 | 7 |
| 39 | Cornwall ON | 0.1% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 40 | Medicine Hat AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 1 |
The map
The green map of North Bay
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
Walk in North Bay: 20 named parks and woods
The biggest is Thomson Park, 9.7 ha. Biggest first, numbered as on the map.
20 named parks and woods, 78 ha in all
Parks & gardens 30 haWoods 48 ha
Add Hemlock Island to Poplar Island and you have 56% of it.
Hemlock Island
Wood or forest · 110 m outside town
33 ha
5.8 km eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Lee Park
Park or garden
3.7 ha0.6 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.6 km of path
1.8 km southfrom the centre
Kate Pace Way
Directionsto a point inside
Poplar Island
Wood or forest · 220 m outside town
11 ha
6.7 km eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Marathon Beach
Park or garden
1.8 ha0.3 km of path
1.8 km westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
All 20 named parks and green spaces
Thomson ParkPark or garden · 9.7 ha · 2.6 km of path
DirectionsHemlock IslandWood or forest · 33 ha · just outside town
DirectionsLee ParkPark or garden · 3.7 ha · 0.6 km of path
DirectionsBirchhaven CovePark or garden · 3.4 ha
DirectionsPoplar IslandWood or forest · 11 ha · just outside town
DirectionsMarathon BeachPark or garden · 1.8 ha · 0.3 km of path
DirectionsSunset ParkPark or garden · 1.2 ha · 0.4 km of path
DirectionsIke Bowness FieldPark or garden · 2.0 ha
DirectionsRock Street ParkPark or garden · 1.6 ha
DirectionsOlmsted BeachPark or garden · 1.1 ha · 0.3 km of path
DirectionsVimy Ridge MemorialPark or garden · 0.7 ha · 0.3 km of path
DirectionsFalconbridge IslandWood or forest · 4.1 ha · just outside town
DirectionsThird Ave TrailPark or garden · 1.0 ha
DirectionsPortage ParkPark or garden · 0.9 ha
DirectionsSilver Beach ParkPark or garden · 0.6 ha
DirectionsDog ParkPark or garden · 0.7 ha
DirectionsEva Wardlaw Conservation parkPark or garden · 0.5 ha
DirectionsElks Lodge #25 Family Park Conservation AreaPark or garden · 0.5 ha
DirectionsGraniteville PlaygroundPark or garden · 0.3 ha
DirectionsSweetman's GardensPark or garden · 0.3 ha
DirectionsSource: 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 5 in 10 of North Bay’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 (52%)Further (48%)
North Bay52%
Towns in Ontario90%
Typical Canadian town83%
The typical Canadian town reaches 83%. That leaves about 30,000 people more than a short walk away.
Protected areas
The 4 protected areas near North Bay
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
Inside North Bay5.6%
Within 10 km7.4%
Towns in Ontario2.3%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Governments or Indigenous nations hold all 4. Mattawa River Provincial Park leads for size with 14,142 ha.
Mattawa River Provincial ParkProvincial park · 14,142 ha · reaches North Bay
Widdifield Forest Provincial ParkProvincial park · 2,170 ha · reaches North Bay
Callander Bay Wetland Conservation ReserveNature reserve · 319 ha · reaches North Bay
Manitou Islands Provincial ParkProvincial park · 1,926 ha · 3.9 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
Mattawa River Provincial Park starts at the edge of North Bay
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
Mattawa River Provincial Park
At the edge141 km²since 1970
Provincial park
Widdifield Forest Provincial Park
At the edge22 km²since 2002
Provincial park
Manitou Islands Provincial Park
3.9 km south-west19 km²since 1989
There is no national park within 100 km; for big parks, North Bay has its province’s. 3 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
Paths to walk: 185 km in and around North Bay
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
185 km
in and around the town (486.1 km²)
Woodland
63%
about 306.8 km² of mapped woods
Footpaths · km per km²
North BayTowns in OntarioTypical Canadian town
Footpaths0.4
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
North BayTowns in OntarioTypical Canadian town
Woodland63%
0%50%100%
It has fewer paths per km² than 70% of Canadian towns. It is more wooded than 89% 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
North Bay has 4 named walking routes
Named walking and hiking routes on OpenStreetMap with at least 300 m within 2 km of the town, longest first; national routes lead.
Local
South Duchesnay Valley Trail2.1 km
West Duchesnay Falls Trail2.1 km
East Duchesnay Falls Trail1.5 km
Power Line Trail0.7 km
For a short stroll, 4 are under 3 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 best months for walking in North Bay: May to August
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals from North Bay (5.6 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) | 9.0 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 15.8 | 15.4 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.6 |
| High (°C) | -7 | -6 | 1 | 9 | 17 | 22 | 24 | 23 | 19 | 11 | 3 | -4 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 70 | 54 | 60 | 72 | 89 | 91 | 98 | 93 | 114 | 109 | 97 | 73 |
September is the wettest month (114 mm) and February the driest (54 mm). In July the typical high is 24 °C; in January, -7 °C. A typical year sees 312 cm of snow. The climate in North Bay →
Beaches
13 beaches within 5 km of North Bay
Beaches on OpenStreetMap within 5 km of the town’s edge, nearest first, with directions.
Birchhaven Cove Beachsand · in town
DirectionsKinsmen Beachmixed · in town
DirectionsLighthouse Beach3.4 km from town
Directions10 further beaches go unnamed. For water quality, look to the local health unit: no open beach-testing data covers Canada.
Source: OpenStreetMap (natural=beach), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Things to do
Near North Bay: 7 viewpoints on the map
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
The map shows 37 playgrounds, ahead of the rest.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 7
Dipping Platformin town
DirectionsViewing Platformin town
DirectionsLake Nipissing Lookout0.0 km from town
DirectionsDuchesnay Falls0.6 km from town
DirectionsPlus 3 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 1
Thibeault Hillin town
DirectionsNature reserves 2
Laurentian Escarpment Conservation Areain town
DirectionsLaurier Woods Conservation Areain town
DirectionsPicnic sites 2
Plus 2 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 37
Circle Lake playgroundin town
DirectionsPumphouse Playgroundin town
DirectionsRock Street Parkin town
Directionssplash pad1.6 km from town
DirectionsPlus 33 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks 1
Dog Parkin town
DirectionsCampsites 3
Dreany Haven Campground0.5 km from town
DirectionsPlus 2 campsites without a name on the map.
Slipways 8
Plus 8 slipways without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Next door
Next to North Bay
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page.
CallanderEast FerrisNorth Bay
Under 1%1–5%5–15%15–40%40%+
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Bay | 7.4% | 4 | 4 | 13 |
| Callander 14 km | 2.9% | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| East Ferris 15 km | 10% | 3 | 0 | 8 |
Next door, protected shares stay within twice North Bay’s.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Beaches. Beaches are OpenStreetMap’s, named or not; in the north many are unnamed shoreline imports.
- Walking routes. A route counts when 300 m or more of it lies within 2 km of the town. Coverage of trails on OpenStreetMap varies by region.
- National and provincial parks. Distances run from the town’s edge to the park’s, so 0 km means they touch.
- 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.
- Private land. CPCAD includes conservation land held privately; the page counts it and leaves the names out.
Questions about the outdoors in North Bay
Where can you walk near North Bay?
OpenStreetMap maps the South Duchesnay Valley Trail, West Duchesnay Falls Trail and East Duchesnay Falls Trail close by, with others.
Where can you swim near North Bay?
The nearest is Birchhaven Cove Beach, in town.
Are there protected areas near North Bay?
Protected areas cover 7.4% of the land within 10 km.
Is there a provincial park near North Bay?
Widdifield Forest Provincial Park touches the town.
What is the biggest park or reserve near North Bay?
Mattawa River Provincial Park: 14,142 ha, a provincial park.
How far is North Bay from a national park?
The nearest national park is more than 100 km from North Bay.
What is the best season to get outdoors in North Bay?
On the normals, May to August: that is when days are long, highs reach 15 °C and rain is light.
Sources
Where North Bay’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.
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).