Photo: P199 · Public domainProtected land is scarce around Lac Simon: 0.5% within 10 km
9.1 km out lies the largest, Caribous-de-Val-d'Or Biodiversity Reserve, at 43,419 ha. No national park lies within 100 km. The 10 km around town hold one protected area.
Lac Simon 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.
CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC, 2026), OpenStreetMap (November 2026). Distances from the town’s outline.
Lac Simon sits 15th from last of 40 towns its size for protected land around it
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (1,403 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.
For public protected areas, Lac Simon lags towns its size: 28 of 39 are ahead.
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 | Lac Simon QC | 0.5% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Munroe West MB | 0.4% | 0% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Brooke-Alvinston ON | 0.3% | 0.2% | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Rosedale AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 30 | Minchau AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 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 |
Where the green is in Lac Simon
The First Nations reserve’s parks, woods, protected land and paths as mapped.
A park is within a short walk for 7 in 10 in Lac Simon
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 500 residents are further than 400 m from a park. That is below the typical Canadian town (83%).
1 protected area lies within 10 km of Lac Simon
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
It is public.
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.
Lac Simon and its edge hold 1 km of footpath
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
89% of Canadian towns have more footpath per km². It is more wooded than 89% 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 Lac Simon
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 First Nations reserve; 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.
May is the best month for walking in Lac Simon
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals from Val-D'or (33 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) | 8.8 | 10.1 | 11.7 | 13.6 | 15.2 | 16.0 | 15.7 | 14.3 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.2 | 8.4 |
| High (°C) | -10 | -8 | -2 | 7 | 16 | 22 | 24 | 22 | 17 | 9 | 1 | -6 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 55 | 42 | 47 | 65 | 69 | 84 | 101 | 93 | 102 | 82 | 75 | 54 |
Precipitation runs from 42 mm in February to 102 mm in September. The warmest days come in July (24 °C highs), the coldest in January (-10 °C). The climate in Lac Simon →
Next to Lac Simon
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page. No closer places have figures: these lie 23–47 km from Lac Simon.
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lac Simon | 0.5% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Senneterre 23 km | 1.4% | 13 | 0 | 3 |
| Val-d'Or 33 km | 11% | 55 | 0 | 4 |
| Senneterre 37 km | 7% | 166 | 0 | 8 |
| Barraute 47 km | 0.5% | 7 | 0 | 0 |
For protected land, Senneterre, Val-d'Or and Senneterre have twice as much or more.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Protected land. Protected here means in CPCAD, Canada’s official list: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and other conserved land, measured within 10 km of the town’s edge.
- Private land. Private conservation land is in the totals, not the lists. Many such areas are easements on working farms or woodlots.
- Walking routes. Routes are what OpenStreetMap’s volunteers have mapped as named walking or hiking routes; many good trails aren’t mapped that way.
- National and provincial parks. The nearest national park and the nearest provincial park are always shown when they are within 100 km.
Questions about the outdoors in Lac Simon
Which is the biggest protected area near Lac Simon?
It is Caribous-de-Val-d'Or Biodiversity Reserve, a nature reserve covering 43,419 ha.
Is there protected land near Lac Simon?
Within 10 km, 0.5% of the land lies in protected areas.
What is the nearest national park to Lac Simon?
The nearest national park is more than 100 km from Lac Simon.
When should you visit Lac Simon for the outdoors?
May, on the 1991–2020 normals and the daylight: long days, highs of 15 °C or more, light rain for the place.
Sources for this page on Lac Simon
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).