Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Raquel. · CC BY 3.026 areas within 10 km are protected for nature. The largest named area nearby is Brampton Natural Heritage System, 1,126 ha, 8.0 km away. Protected areas cover 5.1% of the land within 10 km; for the typical Canadian town it is 2.3%.
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.
CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC, 2026), OpenStreetMap (November 2026). Distances from the town’s outline.
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (36,097 to 42,989 residents), by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected. Hover for each one’s figures; click for its page.
For protected land nearby, Vellore sits near the top of its size group: 14 of 39 have more.
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pointe-Claire QC | 33% | 0.2% | 40 | 0 | 6 |
| 2 | Panorama Ridge BC | 23% | 13% | 181 | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | Strawberry Hill BC | 20% | 0.8% | 158 | 4 | 2 |
| 4 | Pierrefonds-Est QC | 18% | 3.1% | 40 | 0 | 6 |
| 5 | Port Moody BC | 16% | 23% | 48 | 5 | 102 |
| 6 | Sullivan BC | 15% | 5.6% | 190 | 6 | 0 |
| 7 | Côte-Saint-Luc QC | 14% | 0% | 27 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | Sorel-Tracy QC | 12% | 0% | 75 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | Penticton BC | 12% | 1% | 26 | 0 | 61 |
| 10 | Sainte-Dorothée QC | 12% | 3.7% | 45 | 0 | 5 |
| 11 | West Kelowna BC | 12% | 2.7% | 29 | 1 | 40 |
| 12 | Boucherville QC | 7.1% | 14% | 53 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | Marc-Aurèle-Fortin QC | 7.1% | 0.5% | 30 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Sunset BC | 6.9% | 0% | 15 | 0 | 9 |
| 15 | Vellore ON | 5.1% | 1.8% | 26 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Yaletown BC | 4.7% | 0% | 12 | 3 | 77 |
| 17 | Mount Pleasant BC | 4.2% | 0% | 12 | 4 | 73 |
| 18 | Duvernay QC | 4.1% | 1.2% | 56 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Prince Albert SK | 3.3% | 0% | 30 | 0 | 5 |
| 20 | Neufchatel Est—Lebourgneuf QC | 3.2% | 0% | 26 | 1 | 4 |
| 21 | Le Boisé Champêtre QC | 3.2% | 0% | 37 | 0 | 2 |
| 22 | Campbell River BC | 3% | 7.3% | 27 | 0 | 2 |
| 23 | Kensington-Cedar Cottage BC | 3% | 0% | 14 | 3 | 26 |
| 24 | Beverley Glen ON | 2.8% | 0% | 30 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Metrotown BC | 2.5% | 0% | 21 | 3 | 6 |
| 26 | Malton ON | 2.4% | 0% | 12 | 2 | 0 |
| 27 | Cochrane AB | 2.3% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Sainte-Rose QC | 1.9% | 0.1% | 35 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Laval-des-Rapides QC | 1.7% | 0.1% | 31 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Stratford ON | 1.5% | 0% | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 31 | East Gwillimbury ON | 0.8% | 0.6% | 14 | 2 | 1 |
| 32 | Meadowvale ON | 0.8% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Orillia ON | 0.7% | 0.1% | 17 | 4 | 7 |
| 34 | Fort Erie ON | 0.5% | 0.1% | 6 | 0 | 12 |
| 35 | Moose Jaw SK | 0.5% | 3.3% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | Central Erin Mills ON | 0.5% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | LaSalle ON | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Clarkson - Lorne Park ON | 0.1% | 1.5% | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 39 | Erin Mills ON | 0.1% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Leduc AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Green space, woods, protected areas and footpaths in and around the neighbourhood; tap a number for its park or wood.
Kortright Centre for Conservation is the largest, at 396 ha; the rest follow by size, numbered as on the map.
82% of the area is in just two places: Kortright Centre for Conservation and Boyd Conservation Area.
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.
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.
Around 1,000 residents are further than 400 m from a park. Against the typical Canadian town’s 83%, that is high.
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
On public land: 16 of the 26. The others are private conservation land. Biggest of the named areas: Brampton Natural Heritage System, 1,126 ha. The figures include 10 private conservation areas, left unnamed.
6 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 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.
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
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).
For path density, it beats 71% of Canadian towns. It is more wooded than 53% 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.
Named walking and hiking routes on OpenStreetMap with at least 300 m within 2 km of the town, longest first; national routes lead.
There is no mapped walking route within 2 km of the neighbourhood; a local trail club’s maps may show more.
Source: OpenStreetMap (route relations hiking, foot and walking), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Trans Canada Trail sections as OSM maps them.
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals from Toronto Buttonville (Airport) (16 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) | 9.3 | 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 |
Some 146 cm of snow falls each winter. Summer highs reach 27 °C in July; in January they stay near -2 °C. June is the wettest month (87 mm) and February the driest (51 mm). The climate in Vellore →
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
Most numerous: playgrounds (115).
Plus 9 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Plus 107 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Plus 2 slipways without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page.
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vellore | 5.1% | 26 | 0 | 0 |
| Purpleville 2.4 km | 6.2% | 65 | 1 | 0 |
| Peace Village 3.5 km | 5.7% | 44 | 0 | 0 |
| Maple 3.8 km | 4.3% | 35 | 0 | 0 |
| Pine Grove 4.0 km | 6.2% | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| Vaughan Metropolitan Centre 4.2 km | 4.7% | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| Edgeley 4.6 km | 3.9% | 31 | 0 | 0 |
Vellore holds its own on protected land: no neighbour has twice its share.
It is Rouge National Urban Park, 24 km off.
Yes: 5.1% of the land within 10 km is protected.
Brampton Natural Heritage System: 1,126 ha, a nature reserve.
It is Holland Landing Prairie Provincial Park, 31 km away.
On the normals, May and July to September: that is when days are long, highs reach 15 °C and rain is light.
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).