First pick
Site de la SACS
Park or garden
9.2 ha
0.8 km south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Krisco75 · CC BY-SA 3.00.2%protected within 10 km
Outdoors in Ayer's Cliff · parks, protected land & trails
Ayer's Cliff has 0.2% protected land within 10 km
CPCAD lists 5 protected areas within 10 km. The nearest provincial park, Mont-Orford National Park (Québec), is 17 km away. Swimmers have 3 beaches within 5 km, Plage Massawippi the nearest.
Protected land
0.2%
of the land within 10 km
Typical Canadian town: 2.3%
Protected areas
5
within 10 km, 0 public
Typical Canadian town: 14
Nearest provincial park
17 km
Mont-Orford National Park (Québec)
Beaches
3
within 5 km (OpenStreetMap)
Against other towns
How Ayer's Cliff 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. No letter: the outdoors is described for Canadian towns, not graded.
Protected within 10 km0.2%Share of the land and water within 10 km of the town’s edge in a protected or conserved area
Protected in town0%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
Beaches3Beaches mapped on OpenStreetMap within 5 km
CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC, 2026), OpenStreetMap (November 2026). Distances from the town’s outline.
Towns its size
Ayer's Cliff sits 11th from last of 40 towns its size for protected land around it
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (1,284 to 2,587 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
Ayer's Cliff0.2%
Towns its size1.4%
Towns in Quebec4.9%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public protected areas
Ayer's Cliff0
Towns its size3
Towns in Quebec10
Typical Canadian town4
Walking routes
Ayer's Cliff0
Towns its size0
Towns in Quebec0
Typical Canadian town0
Where Ayer's Cliff trails its peers is public protected areas; 33 of 39 have more.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anmore BC | 22% | 47% | 16 | 5 | 98 |
| 2 | Saint-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska QC | 19% | 0% | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Gracefield QC | 19% | 19% | 34 | 0 | 6 |
| 4 | East Preston NS | 16% | 6.3% | 20 | 1 | 5 |
| 5 | Clearwater BC | 7.7% | 4.1% | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | Roberval QC | 6.1% | 1.2% | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague QC | 5.8% | 0% | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | North Frontenac ON | 5.7% | 5.2% | 13 | 6 | 4 |
| 9 | Cap-Chat QC | 5.3% | 0.4% | 13 | 0 | 10 |
| 10 | Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards ON | 4.4% | 1.5% | 9 | 0 | 4 |
| 11 | Saint-Polycarpe QC | 4.2% | 0% | 11 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | Macassa ON | 4.1% | 0% | 18 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | Saint-Damien QC | 4% | 3.2% | 22 | 1 | 9 |
| 14 | Unity SK | 3.4% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Sherwood ON | 3.4% | 0% | 19 | 2 | 0 |
| 16 | McNab SK | 2.6% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | Mandeville QC | 2.5% | 1.8% | 19 | 4 | 7 |
| 18 | Esterhazy SK | 1.8% | 0% | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | City Commercial Core ON | 1.8% | 0% | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Caswell Hill SK | 1.4% | 0% | 16 | 0 | 3 |
| 21 | Fossambault-sur-le-Lac QC | 1.3% | 7.8% | 15 | 0 | 14 |
| 22 | Pembina MB | 1.1% | 1.8% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Burrows-Keewatin MB | 1% | 0% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Elmwood AB | 0.8% | 0% | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 25 | Hatley QC | 0.7% | 0% | 9 | 0 | 5 |
| 26 | Munroe West MB | 0.4% | 0% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Brooke-Alvinston ON | 0.3% | 0.2% | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Rosedale AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 29 | Minchau AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 30 | Ayer's Cliff QC | 0.2% | 0% | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| 31 | Lunenburg NS | 0.1% | 0% | 19 | 0 | 5 |
| 32 | Salisbury NB | 0.1% | 2.1% | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Dufferin MB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Ekota AB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 35 | Satoo AB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 36 | Saint-Éphrem-de-Beauce QC | 0% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 37 | Magrath AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Nanton AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Rimbey AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Sexsmith AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The map
Parks, woods and paths around Ayer's Cliff
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
4 named parks and woods to walk in near Ayer's Cliff
Largest first: Site de la SACS leads with 9.2 ha. Numbers match the map.
4 named parks and woods, 14 ha in all
Parks & gardens 14 ha
Most of it sits in Site de la SACS and Parc de la plage Massawippi: 91% together.
Parc de la plage Massawippi
Park or garden
3.8 ha
1.6 km westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Parc des pionniers
Park or garden
0.9 ha0.3 km of path
1.1 km south-eastfrom the centre
Sentier Nature Tomifobia
Directionsto a point inside
Parc Tyler
Park or garden
0.5 ha0.2 km of path
1.0 km south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
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.
Close to home
In Ayer's Cliff, a park is close to every home
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 (100%)Further (0%)
Ayer's Cliff100%
Towns in Quebec52%
Typical Canadian town83%
Against the typical Canadian town’s 83%, that is high.
Protected areas
Ayer's Cliff has 5 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 Ayer's Cliff0%
Within 10 km0.2%
Towns in Quebec4.9%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
All of them are private land, held by landowners or conservation groups, so they are counted here but not named.
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
Mont-Orford National Park (Québec) is 17 km away
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
Québec national park (provincial)
Mont-Orford National Park (Québec)
17 km north-west59 km²since 1979
For a national park, people in Ayer's Cliff travel more than 100 km. Sépaq runs Québec’s parcs nationaux, which are provincial parks under another name.
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
Footpaths and woods
6 km of paths in and around Ayer's Cliff
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
5.7 km
in and around the town (23 km²)
Woodland
49%
about 11.2 km² of mapped woods
Footpaths · km per km²
Ayer's CliffTowns in QuebecTypical Canadian town
Footpaths0.2
012 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
Ayer's CliffTowns in QuebecTypical Canadian town
Woodland49%
0%50%100%
Woods cover more of it than in 83% of Canadian towns. For path density, 75% 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
OpenStreetMap shows no walking route near Ayer's Cliff
Named walking and hiking routes on OpenStreetMap with at least 300 m within 2 km of the town, longest first; national routes lead.
Nothing near the town is mapped as a named walking route, which often means the trails just haven’t been entered as routes.
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 Ayer's Cliff: May and July to September
Daylight at the town’s latitude and ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals (Coaticook, 20 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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°C) | -5 | -3 | 2 | 10 | 18 | 22 | 25 | 24 | 20 | 12 | 5 | -2 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 85 | 74 | 80 | 90 | 108 | 130 | 120 | 120 | 104 | 110 | 91 | 106 |
June is the wettest month (130 mm) and February the driest (74 mm). Highs peak near 25 °C in July and fall to -5 °C in January. Snow totals about 291 cm a year. The climate in Ayer's Cliff →
Beaches
3 beaches within 5 km of Ayer's Cliff
Beaches on OpenStreetMap within 5 km of the town’s edge, nearest first, with directions.
Plage Massawippiin town
DirectionsPlage Ethan4.8 km from town
DirectionsThe map adds one unnamed beach. 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.
Things to do
Near Ayer's Cliff: 8 outdoor spots 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 tallest named summit close by is Colline Butternut (290 m).
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 1
Colline Butternut290 m · 1.4 km from town
DirectionsPicnic sites 2
Halte du Pont Couvert0.0 km from town
DirectionsPlus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 2
Plus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Camping Lac Massawippi0.0 km from town
DirectionsSlipways 2
Plus 2 slipways without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Next door
Next to Ayer's Cliff
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page.
Sainte-Catherine-de-HatleyStansteadMagogComptonWatervilleStansteadAyer's Cliff
Under 1%1–5%5–15%15–40%40%+
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ayer's Cliff | 0.2% | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley 9.3 km | 1.3% | 11 | 0 | 7 |
| Stanstead 11 km | 1.3% | 31 | 0 | 6 |
| Magog 13 km | 7.5% | 53 | 1 | 16 |
| Compton 18 km | 0.3% | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Waterville 19 km | 0.7% | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| Stanstead 19 km | 0.3% | 4 | 0 | 1 |
For protected land, Sainte-Catherine-de-Hatley, Stanstead and Magog have twice as much or more.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- National and provincial parks. Distances run from the town’s edge to the park’s, so 0 km means they touch.
- Private land. CPCAD includes conservation land held privately; the page counts it and leaves the names out.
- Beaches. Beaches are OpenStreetMap’s, named or not; in the north many are unnamed shoreline imports.
- Walking routes. Only named route relations count; a park’s own path network may not show unless it is mapped as a route.
- Protected land. The share is of the land and water within 10 km of the town’s outline, from CPCAD’s mapped areas; marine areas count, so a coastal town can score high on water.
Questions about the outdoors in Ayer's Cliff
How far is Ayer's Cliff from a national park?
No national park lies within 100 km of Ayer's Cliff.
When should you visit Ayer's Cliff for the outdoors?
May and July to September, on the 1991–2020 normals and the daylight: long days, highs of 15 °C or more, light rain for the place.
Are there protected areas near Ayer's Cliff?
Protected areas cover 0.2% of the land within 10 km.
What is the nearest beach to Ayer's Cliff?
Plage Massawippi, in town, is the nearest mapped beach.
Is there a provincial park near Ayer's Cliff?
Mont-Orford National Park (Québec), 17 km away.
Sources
Where Ayer's Cliff’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).