Photo: Robert Garry · CC BY-SA 4.0Lac Chevrillon Heronry reaches Chibougamau
Swimmers have 7 beaches within 5 km, Plage du Lac Gilman the nearest. 18 km from town is Assinica National Park Reserve (Québec), the nearest provincial park. The largest named area nearby is 02664R026 Biological Refuge, 1,183 ha, 4.6 km away.
How Chibougamau 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. Canada’s grades don’t include the outdoors, so this page compares the figures rather than grading them.
CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC, 2026), OpenStreetMap (November 2026). Distances from the town’s outline.
Among 40 towns its size, Chibougamau is 12th from the bottom for protected land
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (7,161 to 7,391 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, Chibougamau does best for public protected areas: 12 of the other 39 have more. For protected land nearby, though, 28 of 39 are ahead.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saint-Joseph-du-Lac QC | 20% | 1.1% | 33 | 0 | 10 |
| 2 | Hope BC | 15% | 4.1% | 11 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | Trent Lakes ON | 14% | 12% | 18 | 1 | 5 |
| 4 | Vanier South ON | 12% | 1.1% | 39 | 2 | 2 |
| 5 | Peace River AB | 8.4% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Saint-Jude QC | 7.1% | 0% | 21 | 0 | 5 |
| 7 | Chandler QC | 5.8% | 0.4% | 22 | 0 | 17 |
| 8 | Portage la Prairie MB | 4.7% | 7% | 18 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | Carlisle ON | 4% | 0% | 30 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | Coronation Park SK | 4% | 0% | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Haysboro AB | 3.9% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| 12 | Concord ON | 3.1% | 0% | 21 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Cathedral Village SK | 2.8% | 0% | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 14 | Saint-Paul QC | 2.4% | 0% | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Athabasca County AB | 2.4% | 3.2% | 35 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 | Twin Lakes SK | 2.3% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Colborne ON | 2.2% | 0.3% | 28 | 1 | 2 |
| 18 | Slave Lake AB | 2.1% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Currie Barracks AB | 1.9% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Brown's Corners ON | 1.8% | 0% | 32 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Whyte Ridge MB | 1.7% | 0% | 23 | 0 | 1 |
| 22 | Lymburn AB | 1.7% | 0% | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | North River Heights MB | 1.5% | 0% | 26 | 2 | 0 |
| 24 | Wainfleet ON | 1.4% | 5.7% | 16 | 0 | 8 |
| 25 | Bonnyville AB | 1.4% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 26 | King Edward MB | 1.3% | 0% | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Inglewood AB | 1.3% | 0% | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 28 | Merritt BC | 0.9% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| 29 | Chibougamau QC | 0.8% | 0.1% | 8 | 0 | 7 |
| 30 | Erin Woods AB | 0.6% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 7 |
| 31 | Ranchlands AB | 0.6% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 32 | La Sarre QC | 0.5% | 0.1% | 9 | 0 | 2 |
| 33 | Sage Creek MB | 0.5% | 0% | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Brighton SK | 0.5% | 0.1% | 10 | 1 | 2 |
| 35 | Cavanagh AB | 0.2% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 36 | Brentwood AB | 0.1% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 37 | Val-des-Sources QC | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Niverville MB | 0% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Hamptons AB | 0% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Kincora AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Parks, woods and paths around Chibougamau
The town’s parks, woods, protected land and paths, with its named places numbered.
19 parks and woods to walk in, in or near Chibougamau
Largest first: Île du Gabbro leads with 105 ha. Numbers match the map.
Île du Gabbro plus Île Pilcher account for 45% of the green.
Parc Kiwanis
All 19 named parks and green spaces
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.
About 4 in 10 of Chibougamau’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.
Most towns do better: the typical Canadian town is at 83%. For about 4,100 people, the nearest park is over 400 m away.
Lac Chevrillon Heronry touches Chibougamau
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
All 8 are public land. Biggest of the named areas: 02664R026 Biological Refuge, 1,183 ha.
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.
Assinica National Park Reserve (Québec) is 18 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.
Assinica National Park Reserve (Québec)
No national park lies within 100 km of Chibougamau; the provincial parks are the big protected land within reach. The province names its big parks parcs nationaux, though they are provincial.
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
Paths to walk: 104 km in and around Chibougamau
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 · km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
Woods cover more of it than in 91% of Canadian towns. Paths are thinner on the ground than in 87% 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.
No mapped walking route near Chibougamau
Named walking and hiking routes on OpenStreetMap with at least 300 m within 2 km of the town, longest first; national routes lead.
OpenStreetMap has no named walking route within 2 km of the town. Trails may exist without being mapped as routes.
Source: OpenStreetMap (route relations hiking, foot and walking), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Trans Canada Trail sections as OSM maps them.
The walking year in Chibougamau
Daylight at the town’s latitude and ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals (Roberval, 217 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) | 8.5 | 10.0 | 11.7 | 13.7 | 15.4 | 16.3 | 15.9 | 14.4 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 9.0 | 8.1 |
| High (°C) | -13 | -10 | -3 | 5 | 15 | 21 | 23 | 21 | 16 | 7 | -1 | -8 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 55 | 45 | 57 | 64 | 71 | 87 | 112 | 104 | 99 | 81 | 71 | 66 |
Highs peak near 23 °C in July and fall to -13 °C in January. Summer brings the most rain: 112 mm in July; February gets 45 mm. The climate in Chibougamau →
Chibougamau has 7 beaches close by
Beaches on OpenStreetMap within 5 km of the town’s edge, nearest first, with directions.
The map adds 6 unnamed stretches of beach. No open data on beach water quality covers every province, so check with public health before a swim.
Source: OpenStreetMap (natural=beach), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Near Chibougamau: 16 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.
There are 11 hills and peaks, more than of anything else.
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 11
Plus 3 hills and peaks more.
Playgrounds 1
Plus 1 playground without a name on the map.
Campsites 3
Plus 3 campsites without a name on the map.
Slipways 1
Plus 1 slipway without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Next to Chibougamau
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page. Chibougamau has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 38–118 km out.
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chibougamau | 0.8% | 8 | 0 | 7 |
| Chapais 38 km | 1% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Mistissini 66 km | 26% | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| Eeyou Istchee Baie-James 93 km | 22% | 358 | 5 | 63 |
| Waswanipi 118 km | 10% | 7 | 0 | 0 |
More routes are mapped around Eeyou Istchee Baie-James (5). Mistissini, Eeyou Istchee Baie-James and Waswanipi have at least twice the protected share around them.
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. Only named route relations count; a park’s own path network may not show unless it is mapped as a route.
- Private land. Private conservation land is in the totals, not the lists. Many such areas are easements on working farms or woodlots.
- Beaches. The count includes unnamed stretches mapped as beach, which can make a lakeside town’s figure large.
Questions about the outdoors in Chibougamau
What is the nearest beach to Chibougamau?
Try Plage du Lac Gilman, in town, first of several.
How much land around Chibougamau is protected?
Within 10 km, 0.8% of the land lies in protected areas.
What is the nearest national park to Chibougamau?
The nearest national park is more than 100 km from Chibougamau.
What is the largest protected area near Chibougamau?
It is 02664R026 Biological Refuge, a wildlife area covering 1,183 ha.
Is there a provincial park near Chibougamau?
Assinica National Park Reserve (Québec), 18 km away.
Sources for this page on Chibougamau
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).