First pick
Baker's Woods
Wood or forest
33 ha3.6 km of path
50 minto walk all 3.6 km of path
3.4 km north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Canmenwalker · CC BY 4.02.1%protected within 10 km
Outdoors in Thornhill · parks, protected land & trails
Rouge National Urban Park lies 18 km beyond Thornhill’s edge
CPCAD lists 29 protected areas within 10 km. 7.6 km out lies the largest, Elgin West Channel Lands, at 89 ha. 33 km from town is Holland Landing Prairie Provincial Park, the nearest provincial park.
Protected land
2.1%
of the land within 10 km
Typical Canadian town: 2.3%
Protected areas
29
within 10 km, 22 public
Typical Canadian town: 14
Nearest national park
18 km
Rouge National Urban Park
Nearest provincial park
33 km
Holland Landing Prairie Provincial Park
Character
What sets Thornhill apart outdoors
Each figure against Canadian towns of 2,500+; tap a tile for the detail.
A national park nearbyRouge National Urban Park, 18 km awayMany protected areas22 public areas within 10 km
Thornhill is strongest on Rouge National Urban Park within easy reach, with the number of public protected areas close by close behind.
Against other towns
Thornhill beside other Canadian towns, figure by figure
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 km2.1%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 areas22Areas 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
Thornhill sits 19th from last of 40 towns its size for protected land around it
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (17,494 to 18,446 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
Thornhill2.1%
Towns its size2.2%
Towns in Ontario2.3%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public protected areas
Thornhill22
Towns its size4
Towns in Ontario4
Typical Canadian town4
Walking routes
Thornhill0
Towns its size0
Towns in Ontario1
Typical Canadian town0
For public protected areas, Thornhill sits near the top of its size group: 3 of 39 have more.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fallingbrook ON | 14% | 0% | 41 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 | Central Saanich BC | 9.2% | 3.3% | 35 | 2 | 29 |
| 3 | Sainte-Catherine QC | 7.9% | 6.3% | 23 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Unionville ON | 7.5% | 0% | 27 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | Yorkton SK | 6.4% | 0% | 38 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Lake Country BC | 6.1% | 0.5% | 20 | 0 | 22 |
| 7 | Schmidtville NS | 5.9% | 0% | 16 | 4 | 18 |
| 8 | Iberville QC | 5.1% | 0% | 21 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | Fraser Heights BC | 4.1% | 24% | 129 | 4 | 6 |
| 10 | Royal Oak BC | 4.1% | 0% | 27 | 3 | 6 |
| 11 | Sainte-Thérèse-de-Lisieux QC | 4% | 0% | 22 | 0 | 8 |
| 12 | L'Ancienne-Lorette QC | 3.9% | 0% | 29 | 1 | 1 |
| 13 | Centre ON | 3.8% | 12% | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | Parc-Laurier QC | 3.5% | 0% | 13 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | Morningside ON | 3% | 27% | 16 | 0 | 4 |
| 16 | McKenzie Towne AB | 3% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 13 |
| 17 | Auburn Bay AB | 2.9% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 12 |
| 18 | Bay-Cloverhill ON | 2.4% | 0% | 12 | 9 | 18 |
| 19 | Downtown Yonge East ON | 2.3% | 0% | 11 | 10 | 39 |
| 20 | Victoria Village ON | 2.2% | 0% | 12 | 0 | 4 |
| 21 | Credit Valley ON | 2.2% | 5.5% | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Thornhill ON | 2.1% | 0.4% | 29 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Greater Napanee ON | 1.9% | 1.2% | 34 | 0 | 1 |
| 24 | Cold Lake AB | 1.7% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 25 | Port Elgin ON | 1.6% | 6.2% | 8 | 0 | 25 |
| 26 | Mahogany AB | 1.4% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 13 |
| 27 | Clanton Park ON | 1.3% | 0% | 13 | 1 | 0 |
| 28 | Downsview ON | 1.1% | 0% | 14 | 1 | 0 |
| 29 | Oakbank MB | 0.8% | 0.8% | 22 | 7 | 1 |
| 30 | Collingwood BC | 0.8% | 0% | 11 | 3 | 6 |
| 31 | Edmundston NB | 0.6% | 0% | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| 32 | Swift Current SK | 0.6% | 0.2% | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Listowel ON | 0.5% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Sylvan Lake AB | 0.5% | 0.1% | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 35 | Brookhaven-Amesbury ON | 0.5% | 0% | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| 36 | Port Hope ON | 0.3% | 0.1% | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| 37 | Brooks AB | 0.3% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Mimico-Queensway ON | 0.3% | 0% | 6 | 3 | 20 |
| 39 | DT Fairview ON | 0.2% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Taradale AB | 0.2% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
The map
Parks, woods and paths around Thornhill
Green space, woods, protected areas and footpaths in and around the neighbourhood; tap a number for its park or wood.
Green: OpenStreetMap parks, gardens, playing fields and woods. Hatched: CPCAD protected areas.© OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL); CPCAD (OGL-Canada)
Places to walk
17 parks and woods to walk in, in or near Thornhill
Baker's Woods is the largest, at 33 ha; the rest follow by size, numbered as on the map.
17 named parks and woods, 83 ha in all
Parks & gardens 50 haWoods 33 ha
Baker's Woods plus York Hill District Park account for 52% of the green.
York Hill District Park
Park or garden
9.8 ha2 km of path
25 minto walk all 2 km of path
Centralin the middle of Thornhill
Directionsto a point inside
Jean Augustine District Park
Park or garden · 260 m outside town
9.8 ha0.8 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.8 km of path
2.1 km north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Downham Green Park
Park or garden · 310 m outside town
4.6 ha0.7 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.7 km of path
1.6 km south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Chapman Park
Park or garden
3.6 ha0.7 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.7 km of path
3.1 km northfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Rosedale North Park
Park or garden
3.5 ha0.4 km of path
1.4 km north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Newport Square Park
Park or garden · 100 m outside town
3.0 ha0.6 km of path
5 minto walk all 0.6 km of path
2.1 km north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Lakehurst Park
Park or garden
3.0 ha0.3 km of path
1.5 km south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
All 17 named parks and green spaces
Baker's WoodsWood or forest · 33 ha · 3.6 km of path
DirectionsYork Hill District ParkPark or garden · 9.8 ha · 2 km of path
DirectionsJean Augustine District ParkPark or garden · 9.8 ha · 0.8 km of path · just outside town
DirectionsDownham Green ParkPark or garden · 4.6 ha · 0.7 km of path · just outside town
DirectionsChapman ParkPark or garden · 3.6 ha · 0.7 km of path
DirectionsRosedale North ParkPark or garden · 3.5 ha · 0.4 km of path
DirectionsNewport Square ParkPark or garden · 3.0 ha · 0.6 km of path · just outside town
DirectionsLakehurst ParkPark or garden · 3.0 ha · 0.3 km of path
DirectionsOakbank ParkPark or garden · 3.3 ha · 0.2 km of path
DirectionsHefhill ParkPark or garden · 2.4 ha · 0.4 km of path
DirectionsBathurst Estates ParkPark or garden · 2.5 ha · 0.2 km of path
DirectionsVaughan Crest ParkPark or garden · 2.3 ha · 0.2 km of path
DirectionsLangstaff School ParkPark or garden · 0.8 ha · 0.1 km of path
DirectionsHeatherton ParkettePark or garden · 0.4 ha · 0.2 km of path
DirectionsSir Robert Watson-Watt ParkettePark or garden · 0.3 ha · just outside town
DirectionsRiverside ParkPark or garden · 0.4 ha
DirectionsPercy Bone ParkettePark 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
9 in 10 people in Thornhill live near 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 (89%)Further (11%)
Thornhill89%
Towns in Ontario90%
Typical Canadian town83%
Few do better: the typical Canadian town is at 83%. About 1,900 residents live further than 400 m from one.
Protected areas
2.1% of the land around Thornhill is protected
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
Inside Thornhill0.4%
Within 10 km2.1%
Towns in Ontario2.3%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Of those 29, 22 are public and the remainder private. Elgin West Channel Lands leads for size with 89 ha. 7 more areas are private land or have no recorded public owner: counted, not named.
Webster ParkNature reserve · 18 ha · 0.8 km from the edge of town
Doncrest ValleyNature reserve · 5.4 ha · 2.0 km from the edge of town
Wood's ParkNature reserve · 2.7 ha · 2.1 km from the edge of town
Richvale GreenwayNature reserve · 14 ha · 2.3 km from the edge of town
David Dunlap Observatory ParkNature reserve · 45 ha · 2.5 km from the edge of town
Beaver WoodlandNature reserve · 18 ha · 3.1 km from the edge of town
Stockdale ParketteNature reserve · 0.4 ha · 3.4 km from the edge of town
North Richvale GreenwayNature reserve · 6.8 ha · 3.5 km from the edge of town
Little Don ParkNature reserve · 3.4 ha · 3.5 km from the edge of town
Pioneer ParkNature reserve · 10 ha · 4.2 km from the edge of town
12 more named areas within 10 km are in the figures.
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 Thornhill
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 urban park
Rouge National Urban Park
18 km north-east46 km²since 2015
Provincial park
Holland Landing Prairie Provincial Park
33 km north0.3 km²since 1994
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
Footpaths and woods
Thornhill has 75 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
75 km
in and around the town (24.4 km²)
Woodland
4.6%
about 1.1 km² of mapped woods
Footpaths · km per km²
ThornhillTowns in OntarioTypical Canadian town
Footpaths3.1
024 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
ThornhillTowns in OntarioTypical Canadian town
Woodland4.6%
0%50%100%
For woods, 62% of Canadian towns have more. For path density, it beats 72% 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
OpenStreetMap shows no walking route near Thornhill
Named walking and hiking routes on OpenStreetMap with at least 300 m within 2 km of the town, longest first; national routes lead.
No walking route is mapped within 2 km of the neighbourhood. Mapping of trails as routes varies a great deal across Canada.
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 Thornhill: May and July to September
Daylight at the town’s latitude and ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals (Toronto Buttonville (Airport), 8.0 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 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°C) | -2 | -1 | 5 | 12 | 19 | 25 | 27 | 26 | 22 | 14 | 7 | 2 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 64 | 51 | 52 | 79 | 80 | 87 | 85 | 72 | 83 | 71 | 77 | 63 |
Expect around 146 cm of snow over a winter. July is the warmest month, with highs around 27 °C; January the coldest, at -2 °C. February is the driest month at 51 mm; June the wettest at 87 mm. The climate in Thornhill →
Things to do
184 things to do outdoors near Thornhill
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
Top of the list: playgrounds, 181 of them.
Every named place, with directions
Picnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 181
Bzz-e-Kids Indoor Playground0.6 km from town
DirectionsOneida Playground0.9 km from town
DirectionsPlus 179 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Next door
Next to Thornhill
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page.
Steeles CornersBeverley GlenNewtonbrook WestLangstaffNewtonbrook EastWestminster-BransonThornhill
Under 1%1–5%5–15%15–40%40%+
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thornhill | 2.1% | 29 | 0 | 0 |
| Steeles Corners 1.5 km | 1.8% | 26 | 0 | 0 |
| Beverley Glen 1.8 km | 2.8% | 30 | 0 | 0 |
| Newtonbrook West 2.3 km | 1.7% | 21 | 0 | 0 |
| Langstaff 2.4 km | 2.3% | 27 | 0 | 0 |
| Newtonbrook East 2.5 km | 1.8% | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| Westminster-Branson 2.9 km | 1.7% | 21 | 0 | 0 |
For protected land, no neighbour of Thornhill doubles its share.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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. Distances run from the town’s edge to the park’s, so 0 km means they touch.
- 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. Areas held by land trusts or private owners stay unnamed here, though they count in the shares.
Questions about the outdoors in Thornhill
How much land around Thornhill is protected?
Within 10 km, 2.1% of the land lies in protected areas.
How far is Thornhill from a national park?
It is Rouge National Urban Park, 18 km off.
What is the best season to get outdoors in Thornhill?
May and July to September: long days, mild highs and little rain.
What is the biggest park or reserve near Thornhill?
Elgin West Channel Lands: 89 ha, a nature reserve.
What is the nearest provincial park to Thornhill?
It is Holland Landing Prairie Provincial Park, 33 km away.
Sources
Where Thornhill’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).