First pick
Chapples Park
Park or garden
24 ha0.5 km of path
5 minto walk all 0.5 km of path
2.8 km south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Derek Hatfield from Peterborough, Canada · CC BY 2.00.1%protected within 10 km
Outdoors in Thunder Bay · parks, protected land & trails
Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area is 15 km from Thunder Bay
A provincial park, Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park, lies 14 km away. CPCAD lists 3 protected areas within 10 km. Of the country within 10 km, 0.1% lies in protected areas; the median Canadian town has 2.3%.
Protected land
0.1%
of the land within 10 km
Typical Canadian town: 2.3%
Protected areas
3
within 10 km, 0 public
Typical Canadian town: 14
Nearest national park
15 km
Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area
Nearest provincial park
14 km
Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park
Beaches
4
within 5 km (OpenStreetMap)
Character
What sets Thunder Bay apart outdoors
Each figure against Canadian towns of 2,500+; tap a tile for the detail.
A national park nearbyLake Superior National Marine Conservation Area, 15 km awayLittle protected land0.1% within 10 km; the typical Canadian town: 2.3%
For someone who likes to get outside, Thunder Bay’s draw is Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area within easy reach. It has less to offer in protected land nearby.
Against other towns
Each figure for Thunder Bay, 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. There is no Outdoors grade for Canadian towns; the figures stand beside the country’s towns of 2,500+ without a letter.
Protected within 10 km0.1%Share of the land and water within 10 km of the town’s edge in a protected or conserved area
Protected in town0.4%Share of the town’s own area in a protected or conserved area
Public protected areas0Areas within 10 km held by a government or an Indigenous nation
Walking routes0Named OpenStreetMap walking and hiking routes with 300 m+ within 2 km
Beaches4Beaches mapped on OpenStreetMap within 5 km
CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC, 2026), OpenStreetMap (November 2026). Distances from the town’s outline.
Towns its size
Among 40 towns its size, Thunder Bay is 2nd from the bottom for protected land
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (85,560 to 160,882 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
Thunder Bay0.1%
Towns its size3%
Towns in Ontario2.3%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public protected areas
Thunder Bay0
Towns its size13
Towns in Ontario4
Typical Canadian town4
Walking routes
Thunder Bay0
Towns its size1
Towns in Ontario1
Typical Canadian town0
Against towns its size, Thunder Bay is weakest for walking routes: 29 of 39 have more.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maple Ridge BC | 26% | 21% | 101 | 1 | 41 |
| 2 | Delta BC | 24% | 17% | 181 | 9 | 19 |
| 3 | North Vancouver BC | 15% | 22% | 18 | 11 | 169 |
| 4 | Kamloops BC | 14% | 13% | 16 | 0 | 11 |
| 5 | Chilliwack BC | 11% | 7.7% | 36 | 4 | 26 |
| 6 | Saanich BC | 11% | 9.4% | 43 | 7 | 56 |
| 7 | Strathcona County AB | 9.4% | 1.4% | 38 | 7 | 6 |
| 8 | Trois-Rivières QC | 8.4% | 1.2% | 44 | 1 | 10 |
| 9 | Repentigny QC | 8.3% | 1.6% | 41 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | Cape Breton NS | 8.2% | 8.6% | 176 | 1 | 74 |
| 11 | New Westminster BC | 8% | 0% | 83 | 4 | 9 |
| 12 | Victoria BC | 8% | 0.9% | 20 | 4 | 34 |
| 13 | Pickering ON | 7.6% | 11% | 46 | 1 | 11 |
| 14 | Saguenay QC | 6% | 6.1% | 29 | 0 | 11 |
| 15 | Brossard QC | 5.6% | 9.1% | 31 | 0 | 6 |
| 16 | Kingston ON | 5% | 6.2% | 54 | 2 | 5 |
| 17 | Ajax ON | 4.9% | 5.8% | 31 | 1 | 8 |
| 18 | Bolton ON | 4.8% | 5.9% | 113 | 11 | 3 |
| 19 | Lévis QC | 4.1% | 0.6% | 62 | 1 | 8 |
| 20 | Terrebonne QC | 3.8% | 3.6% | 60 | 0 | 3 |
| 21 | St. John's NL | 2.2% | 1.2% | 6 | 1 | 41 |
| 22 | Moncton NB | 2.2% | 1.7% | 17 | 0 | 2 |
| 23 | Nanaimo BC | 1.9% | 6.7% | 42 | 2 | 33 |
| 24 | Bowmanville ON | 1.6% | 3% | 25 | 2 | 9 |
| 25 | Newmarket ON | 1.3% | 1.8% | 27 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Milton ON | 1.3% | 0% | 38 | 15 | 3 |
| 27 | St. Catharines ON | 1.2% | 1.7% | 15 | 4 | 7 |
| 28 | Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu QC | 1.1% | 1.2% | 18 | 1 | 3 |
| 29 | Niagara Falls ON | 1.1% | 1.7% | 15 | 3 | 4 |
| 30 | Chatham ON | 1% | 1% | 21 | 0 | 8 |
| 31 | Guelph ON | 0.9% | 3.1% | 15 | 10 | 5 |
| 32 | Red Deer AB | 0.7% | 1.2% | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| 33 | Peterborough ON | 0.6% | 0% | 6 | 1 | 2 |
| 34 | Waterloo ON | 0.6% | 0% | 17 | 12 | 1 |
| 35 | Lethbridge AB | 0.4% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | Brantford ON | 0.3% | 0% | 15 | 3 | 0 |
| 37 | Prince George BC | 0.3% | 0.5% | 5 | 1 | 51 |
| 38 | Drummondville QC | 0.1% | 0.2% | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 39 | Thunder Bay ON | 0.1% | 0.4% | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 40 | Airdrie AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The map
Where the green is in Thunder 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 Thunder Bay: 30 named parks and woods
Largest first: Chapples Park leads with 24 ha. Numbers match the map.
30 named parks and woods, 162 ha in all
Parks & gardens 151 haWoods 11 ha
The green is scattered, with no place over 15%.
Soroptimist International Friendship Gardens
Park or garden
19 ha2.2 km of path
30 minto walk all 2.2 km of path
3.5 km southfrom the centre
Friendship Gardens walking path
Directionsto a point inside
Marina Park
Park or garden
13 ha4.2 km of path
55 minto walk all 4.2 km of path
3.3 km north-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Cowan Park
Park or garden
12 ha1 km of path
15 minto walk all 1 km of path
14 km south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Chippewa Park
Park or garden
9.9 ha1.2 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.2 km of path
9.7 km southfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Northwood Playfield
Park or garden
9.0 ha0.3 km of path
3.6 km south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Current River Park
Park or garden
6.9 ha0.9 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.9 km of path
6.1 km north-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Jumbo Gardens Playfield
Park or garden
6.8 ha0.6 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.6 km of path
4.4 km north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
All 30 named parks and green spaces
Chapples ParkPark or garden · 24 ha · 0.5 km of path
DirectionsSoroptimist International Friendship GardensPark or garden · 19 ha · 2.2 km of path
DirectionsMarina ParkPark or garden · 13 ha · 4.2 km of path
DirectionsCowan ParkPark or garden · 12 ha · 1 km of path
DirectionsChippewa ParkPark or garden · 9.9 ha · 1.2 km of path
DirectionsNorthwood PlayfieldPark or garden · 9.0 ha · 0.3 km of path
DirectionsCurrent River ParkPark or garden · 6.9 ha · 0.9 km of path
DirectionsJumbo Gardens PlayfieldPark or garden · 6.8 ha · 0.6 km of path
DirectionsJunot ParkPark or garden · 6.4 ha · 0.7 km of path
DirectionsBoulevard Lake ParkPark or garden · 5.3 ha · 0.9 km of path
DirectionsGeorge Burke ParkPark or garden · 5.3 ha · 0.6 km of path
DirectionsHillcrest ParkPark or garden · 3.9 ha · 0.6 km of path
DirectionsAlma Adair ParkPark or garden · 3.0 ha · 0.5 km of path
DirectionsWaverley ParkPark or garden · 2.3 ha · 0.7 km of path
DirectionsThunder Bay Spacing TrialWood or forest · 11 ha
DirectionsBalsam PitPark or garden · 3.0 ha
DirectionsKam River ParkPark or garden · 2.0 ha · 0.4 km of path
DirectionsVolunteer Pool PlayfieldPark or garden · 2.7 ha
DirectionsRiver Terrace ParkPark or garden · 2.6 ha
DirectionsAlbert Allin ParkPark or garden · 1.3 ha · 0.4 km of path
DirectionsUniberry ParkPark or garden · 1.1 ha · 0.4 km of path
DirectionsDalhousie ParkPark or garden · 1.0 ha · 0.4 km of path
DirectionsHumber ParkPark or garden · 1.8 ha
DirectionsSeaman ParkPark or garden · 1.7 ha
DirectionsGreen Acres ParkPark or garden · 1.8 ha
DirectionsMinnesota ParkPark or garden · 1.2 ha · 0.3 km of path
DirectionsTuscany ParkPark or garden · 1.2 ha · 0.2 km of path
DirectionsBrent ParkPark or garden · 1.0 ha · 0.2 km of path
DirectionsSmall Treeline ParkPark or garden · 0.8 ha · 0.3 km of path
DirectionsHeath ParkPark or garden · 1.4 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 7 in 10 of Thunder 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 (68%)Further (32%)
Thunder Bay68%
Towns in Ontario90%
Typical Canadian town83%
About 37,000 residents live further than 400 m from one. The typical Canadian town does better, at 83%.
Protected areas
Thunder Bay has 3 protected areas within 10 km
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
Inside Thunder Bay0.4%
Within 10 km0.1%
Towns in Ontario2.3%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Every one is privately held, and none is named: private land isn’t a place to visit.
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
Big parks near Thunder 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
Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park
14 km west5.0 km²since 1967
National marine conservation area
Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area
15 km east10,880 km²since 2007
Nearer still is Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park, a provincial park 14 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
Thunder Bay has 255 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
255 km
in and around the town (456.5 km²)
Woodland
55%
about 249.9 km² of mapped woods
Footpaths · km per km²
Thunder BayTowns in OntarioTypical Canadian town
Footpaths0.6
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
Thunder BayTowns in OntarioTypical Canadian town
Woodland55%
0%50%100%
More of it is wooded than in 85% of Canadian towns. For path density, 65% of Canadian towns do better.
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 Thunder Bay 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.
OpenStreetMap lists no walking route near the town, 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
The walking year in Thunder Bay
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals from Atikokan (176 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) | 8.7 | 10.1 | 11.7 | 13.6 | 15.2 | 16.1 | 15.7 | 14.3 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.1 | 8.3 |
| High (°C) | -8 | -5 | 1 | 9 | 16 | 22 | 25 | 24 | 19 | 11 | 3 | -5 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 33 | 26 | 34 | 53 | 80 | 101 | 117 | 94 | 102 | 74 | 40 | 38 |
Summer brings the most rain: 117 mm in July; February gets 26 mm. January brings highs of -8 °C, July highs of 25 °C. The climate in Thunder Bay →
Beaches
Thunder Bay has 4 beaches close by
Beaches on OpenStreetMap within 5 km of the town’s edge, nearest first, with directions.
Sand Trapsand · in town
DirectionsThe map adds 3 unnamed stretches of beach. This page can’t show water quality: no open, Canada-wide record of beach testing exists. Check local advisories first.
Source: OpenStreetMap (natural=beach), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Things to do
Thunder Bay has 16 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.
Count 63 playgrounds, the biggest group. Look up to Mount McKay: 489 m.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 16
Rabbit Mountain Lookoutin town
DirectionsThe Bluffsin town
DirectionsMount McKay Scenic Lookout0.1 km from town
DirectionsPlus 13 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 1
Mount McKay489 m · 0.5 km from town
DirectionsNature reserves 5
Cascades Conservation Areain town
DirectionsMission Island Marshin town
DirectionsThunder Bay Spacing Trial0.2 km from town
DirectionsPlus 2 nature reserves without a name on the map.
Picnic sites 6
Plus 6 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 63
Dalhousie Park Playgroundin town
DirectionsInglewood Parkette Playgroundin town
DirectionsJunior Playgroundin town
DirectionsMinnesota Parkin town
DirectionsNorth End Recreation - Splash Padin town
DirectionsPrimary Playgroundin town
DirectionsPlus 57 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Trowbridge Falls Campgroundin town
DirectionsSlipways 6
Neste Boat Launchin town
DirectionsVehicle Boat Launchin town
DirectionsPlus 4 slipways without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Next door
Next to Thunder Bay
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page.
Fort William 52Oliver PaipoongeThunder Bay
Under 1%1–5%5–15%15–40%40%+
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunder Bay | 0.1% | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Fort William 52 9.6 km | 0.3% | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Oliver Paipoonge 16 km | 0.7% | 5 | 0 | 1 |
No neighbouring place reaches twice Thunder Bay’s protected share.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- National and provincial parks. A park at 0 km touches or overlaps the town’s outline; directions point from the town’s centre.
- Walking routes. The list is OpenStreetMap’s, so a missing trail may just be unmapped. The Trans Canada Trail appears where OSM maps it.
- 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.
- Beaches. The count includes unnamed stretches mapped as beach, which can make a lakeside town’s figure large.
- 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.
Questions about the outdoors in Thunder Bay
What is the nearest beach to Thunder Bay?
The nearest is Sand Trap, in town.
Is there protected land near Thunder Bay?
Protected areas cover 0.1% of the land within 10 km.
Is there a provincial park near Thunder Bay?
Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park, 14 km from the edge of town.
Is Thunder Bay near a national park?
Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area is closest, at 15 km.
Sources
The sources behind Thunder Bay’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).