Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Wilfredor · CC06 beaches are mapped within 5 km, none with a name. OpenStreetMap shows one walking route nearby, the Sentier de l'escarpement. The largest is Île d'Orléans (ouest du pont) Water Fowl Gathering Area: 325 ha, 7.6 km from the edge of town.
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.
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (9,451 to 9,852 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, Charlesbourg sits near the top of its size group: 10 of 39 have more.
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley BC | 22% | 12% | 74 | 1 | 7 |
| 2 | Shediac NB | 18% | 5.4% | 20 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | Revelstoke BC | 16% | 0.3% | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Lac-Deschênes QC | 14% | 49% | 32 | 3 | 10 |
| 5 | Manor Park ON | 11% | 4.1% | 41 | 2 | 2 |
| 6 | Antigonish County, Subdivision A NS | 11% | 9.3% | 128 | 1 | 17 |
| 7 | South Cambie BC | 8.6% | 0% | 13 | 2 | 49 |
| 8 | Oromocto NB | 6.6% | 3.8% | 19 | 0 | 5 |
| 9 | Castlegar BC | 6% | 0% | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| 10 | Lakelands Village ON | 5.2% | 0% | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| 11 | Otterburn Park QC | 5% | 0% | 23 | 0 | 3 |
| 12 | Silverado AB | 4.7% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| 13 | Qualicum Beach BC | 4.4% | 1.2% | 24 | 0 | 7 |
| 14 | Glastonbury AB | 4.2% | 0% | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Charlesbourg QC | 3.9% | 0% | 17 | 1 | 6 |
| 16 | Northeast SK | 3.7% | 0% | 6 | 2 | 1 |
| 17 | Shawnessy AB | 3.1% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| 18 | Richmond ON | 2.5% | 0.2% | 17 | 3 | 0 |
| 19 | Laurentian Valley ON | 2.4% | 0.9% | 21 | 0 | 3 |
| 20 | Guildwood ON | 2.2% | 0% | 17 | 0 | 6 |
| 21 | Rosenberg ON | 2.2% | 9.1% | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | North London ON | 1.9% | 0% | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | Steeles Corners ON | 1.8% | 0% | 26 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Lorraine QC | 1.6% | 0.2% | 25 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Avalon SK | 1.6% | 0.7% | 21 | 0 | 1 |
| 26 | Daniel McIntyre MB | 1.5% | 0% | 21 | 4 | 0 |
| 27 | Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier QC | 1.4% | 0.1% | 27 | 0 | 16 |
| 28 | Wiarton ON | 1.4% | 2.4% | 64 | 3 | 55 |
| 29 | Notre-Dame-des-Prairies QC | 1.2% | 0% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Willowgrove SK | 0.8% | 0% | 9 | 1 | 2 |
| 31 | Roberval QC | 0.6% | 0.1% | 8 | 0 | 7 |
| 32 | Thamesford ON | 0.5% | 0.4% | 15 | 4 | 0 |
| 33 | Rustic ON | 0.3% | 0% | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| 34 | Aspen Woods AB | 0.3% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 35 | Plympton-Wyoming ON | 0.2% | 0% | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| 36 | Devonshire ON | 0.2% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Mineola ON | 0.1% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| 38 | Saint-Rémi QC | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Coaldale AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Olds 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.
Parc de l'Escarpement is the largest, at 106 ha; the rest follow by size, numbered as on the map.
Parc de l'Escarpement and Parc du Périgord together hold 84% of it.
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 4,000 residents are further than 400 m from a park. The typical Canadian town does better, at 83%.
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
10 of the 17 are on public land. Île d'Orléans (ouest du pont) Water Fowl Gathering Area covers 325 ha, the most of any named area. The figures include 7 private conservation areas, left 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.
Canada’s national parks are all more than 100 km from Charlesbourg, so the parks here are provincial. Québec’s parcs nationaux are provincial parks, run by Sépaq; Parks Canada’s national parks are separate.
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).
56% of Canadian towns have more footpath per km². Woods cover less of it than in 64% 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.
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 Quebec Jean Lesage (Airport) (10 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) | 8.9 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 15.8 | 15.5 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.5 |
| High (°C) | -7 | -5 | 1 | 8 | 18 | 23 | 25 | 24 | 19 | 11 | 4 | -3 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 87 | 66 | 78 | 94 | 92 | 115 | 119 | 109 | 111 | 116 | 91 | 96 |
Summer highs reach 25 °C in July; in January they stay near -7 °C. Rain peaks with the heat: 119 mm in July, against 66 mm in February. Some 299 cm of snow falls each winter. The climate in Charlesbourg →
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, 49 of them.
Plus 5 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Plus 47 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Gardens and arboretums within 15 km of the town’s edge, and the historic gardens, parks and estates in the town itself, nearest first.
Sources: OpenStreetMap (leisure=garden), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL, and Wikidata (CC0), as gathered in TownRatings’ Canadian attractions set; historic places from Parks Canada’s Directory of Federal Heritage Designations, the Canadian Register of Historic Places and Québec’s Répertoire du patrimoine culturel.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlesbourg | 3.9% | 17 | 1 | 6 |
| Jésuites 1.5 km | 4.6% | 17 | 1 | 6 |
| Saint-Rodrigue 1.9 km | 4.8% | 15 | 1 | 4 |
| Orsainville 2.6 km | 2.5% | 15 | 0 | 6 |
| Bourg-Royal 3.0 km | 4.1% | 19 | 0 | 8 |
| Neufchatel Est—Lebourgneuf 3.3 km | 3.2% | 26 | 1 | 4 |
| Lairet 3.4 km | 5% | 15 | 0 | 4 |
Its neighbours have no more than twice Charlesbourg’s protected share.
Within 10 km, 3.9% of the land lies in protected areas.
It is Jacques-Cartier National Park (Québec), 27 km away.
There are beaches within 5 km, none of them named.
The Sentier de l'escarpement, mapped within 2 km.
May and August: long days, mild highs and little rain.
Île d'Orléans (ouest du pont) Water Fowl Gathering Area, a wildlife area of 325 ha.
No national park lies within 100 km of Charlesbourg.
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.
Gardens: OpenStreetMap (leisure=garden) and Wikidata gardens within 15 km, as gathered in TownRatings’ Canadian attractions set; historic gardens and parks from Canada’s heritage registers (Parks Canada DFHD, the Canadian Register of Historic Places, Québec’s Répertoire du patrimoine culturel).
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).