Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Jfvoll · CC BY-SA 4.04 areas within 10 km are protected for nature. For walks, 2 named routes run within 2 km, such as the Kissing Bridge Trail and Avon Trail. 2 beaches are mapped within 5 km, none with a name.
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.
CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC, 2026), OpenStreetMap (November 2026). Distances from the town’s outline.
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (12,154 to 12,678 residents), by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected. Hover for each one’s figures; click for its page.
Against towns its size, Wellesley is weakest for public protected areas: 38 of 39 have more.
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cantley QC | 21% | 1.2% | 32 | 0 | 3 |
| 2 | Elliot Lake ON | 18% | 7.2% | 10 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | Orleans Village - Chateauneuf ON | 14% | 0% | 35 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Summerland BC | 11% | 7.5% | 25 | 0 | 45 |
| 5 | Bridlewood AB | 7.7% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine QC | 7.3% | 6.1% | 46 | 0 | 94 |
| 7 | Saltspring Island BC | 6.7% | 17% | 109 | 3 | 44 |
| 8 | Rothesay NB | 5.5% | 0% | 9 | 1 | 37 |
| 9 | Saint-Hippolyte QC | 4.2% | 6.9% | 21 | 2 | 5 |
| 10 | Humber Summit ON | 3.6% | 0% | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Highland Creek ON | 3.5% | 0.6% | 14 | 0 | 5 |
| 12 | Moncton NB | 3.4% | 1.4% | 27 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | Chaparral AB | 3.2% | 9.8% | 1 | 0 | 13 |
| 14 | Carignan QC | 2.7% | 2.1% | 35 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Yonge-Eglinton ON | 2.6% | 0% | 14 | 2 | 1 |
| 16 | Grenet QC | 2.5% | 0% | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Spring Valley ON | 2.4% | 8.4% | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Woodbine Corridor ON | 2.3% | 0% | 13 | 3 | 34 |
| 19 | Bromont QC | 2.2% | 2% | 25 | 0 | 2 |
| 20 | Dovercourt Village ON | 2.1% | 0% | 11 | 3 | 13 |
| 21 | Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts QC | 1.8% | 1.6% | 15 | 1 | 8 |
| 22 | Kings County, Subdivision B NS | 1.7% | 5.9% | 19 | 2 | 9 |
| 23 | Bayview Woods-Steeles ON | 1.7% | 17% | 21 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Forest Hill North ON | 1.5% | 0% | 14 | 2 | 1 |
| 25 | Royal Oak AB | 1.4% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 26 | Highland West ON | 1.3% | 0% | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Meaford ON | 1.1% | 2.1% | 70 | 4 | 21 |
| 28 | River Park South MB | 1.1% | 2.1% | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Tyndall Park MB | 1.1% | 0% | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Wellesley ON | 1% | 0% | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| 31 | Windsor Park MB | 0.8% | 0.2% | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Blackfalds AB | 0.6% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Chalmers MB | 0.6% | 0% | 15 | 1 | 0 |
| 34 | Lac Ste. Anne County AB | 0.5% | 0.4% | 33 | 0 | 2 |
| 35 | Alderwood ON | 0.3% | 0% | 5 | 1 | 12 |
| 36 | Uptown ON | 0.3% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Varsity AB | 0.3% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| 38 | Norwich ON | 0.2% | 0% | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| 39 | Etobicoke West Mall ON | 0.2% | 0% | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 40 | DT Hospital ON | 0.1% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 4 |
Green space, woods, protected areas and footpaths in and around the town; tap a number for its park or wood.
Wellesley Rec Centre Park is the largest, at 14 ha; the rest follow by size, 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.
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.
The typical Canadian town does better, at 83%. About 11,300 residents live further than 400 m from one.
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
No public land among them: all are private conservation land, counted but unnamed.
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.
For a national park, people in Wellesley travel more than 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).
More of it is wooded than in 55% of Canadian towns. For path density, 88% 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.
Named walking and hiking routes on OpenStreetMap with at least 300 m within 2 km of the town, longest first; national routes lead.
Among local routes, the Avon Trail is longest at 168.9 km.
Source: OpenStreetMap (route relations hiking, foot and walking), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Trans Canada Trail sections as OSM maps them.
Daylight at the town’s latitude and ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals (Kitchener/Waterloo, 30 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 | 9.0 |
| High (°C) | -3 | -2 | 3 | 11 | 18 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 21 | 13 | 6 | 0 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 66 | 46 | 57 | 81 | 80 | 81 | 96 | 67 | 75 | 71 | 75 | 55 |
The warmest days come in July (25 °C highs), the coldest in January (-3 °C). Summer storms make July the wettest month, 96 mm; February sees 46 mm. The climate in Wellesley →
Beaches on OpenStreetMap within 5 km of the town’s edge, nearest first, with directions.
Beach water tests aren’t published as open data across Canada, so swimming advisories come from the local health unit.
Source: OpenStreetMap (natural=beach), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
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, 6 of them.
Plus 6 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Plus 5 hills and peaks without a name on the map.
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Plus 4 playgrounds 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wellesley | 1% | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| New Hamburg 15 km | 0.4% | 18 | 3 | 1 |
| Perth East 17 km | 0.5% | 6 | 2 | 1 |
| Waterloo 17 km | 0.6% | 17 | 12 | 1 |
| Elmira 18 km | 0.8% | 27 | 10 | 1 |
| Highland West 18 km | 1.3% | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| Westmount 19 km | 1.3% | 18 | 0 | 1 |
No neighbouring place reaches twice Wellesley’s protected share. Waterloo has the most mapped walking routes nearby: 12.
On the normals, May, June, August and September: that is when days are long, highs reach 15 °C and rain is light.
The nearest national park is more than 100 km from Wellesley.
Within 10 km, 1% of the land lies in protected areas.
OpenStreetMap maps the Kissing Bridge Trail and Avon Trail close by, with others.
The beaches mapped within 5 km have no names on the map.
It is Trillium Woods Provincial Park, 46 km away.
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).