Photo: Gabriel Picard · CC BY-SA 4.0Few places match Sainte-Pétronille for protected land nearby: more than 8 in 10 Canadian towns
CPCAD lists 41 protected areas within 10 km. I.O. Saint-Jean Ouest Water Fowl Gathering Area (990 ha) is the biggest, 9.0 km from town. 2 beaches are mapped within 5 km, the nearest Battures de Beauport.
What sets Sainte-Pétronille apart outdoors
Each figure against Canadian towns of 2,500+; tap a tile for the detail.
Sainte-Pétronille is strongest on protected land around it. The gap is a big park within easy reach.
Sainte-Pétronille against 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. 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.
Sainte-Pétronille comes 5th of 40 towns its size for protected land around it
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (1,015 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.
Sainte-Pétronille beats most towns its size for protected land nearby; 4 of 39 do better.
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 | Sainte-Pétronille QC | 8.7% | 0.1% | 41 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | Clearwater BC | 7.7% | 4.1% | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | Roberval QC | 6.1% | 1.2% | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague QC | 5.8% | 0% | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | North Frontenac ON | 5.7% | 5.2% | 13 | 6 | 4 |
| 10 | Cap-Chat QC | 5.3% | 0.4% | 13 | 0 | 10 |
| 11 | Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards ON | 4.4% | 1.5% | 9 | 0 | 4 |
| 12 | Saint-Polycarpe QC | 4.2% | 0% | 11 | 0 | 2 |
| 13 | Macassa ON | 4.1% | 0% | 18 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | Saint-Damien QC | 4% | 3.2% | 22 | 1 | 9 |
| 15 | Unity SK | 3.4% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Sherwood ON | 3.4% | 0% | 19 | 2 | 0 |
| 17 | McNab SK | 2.6% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 18 | Mandeville QC | 2.5% | 1.8% | 19 | 4 | 7 |
| 19 | Esterhazy SK | 1.8% | 0% | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | City Commercial Core ON | 1.8% | 0% | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Caswell Hill SK | 1.4% | 0% | 16 | 0 | 3 |
| 22 | Fossambault-sur-le-Lac QC | 1.3% | 7.8% | 15 | 0 | 14 |
| 23 | Pembina MB | 1.1% | 1.8% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Burrows-Keewatin MB | 1% | 0% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Elmwood AB | 0.8% | 0% | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 26 | Hatley QC | 0.7% | 0% | 9 | 0 | 5 |
| 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 |
Sainte-Pétronille on the map: green space, protected land and paths
Green space, woods, protected areas and footpaths in and around the town; tap a number for its park or wood.
A named park or wood to walk in near Sainte-Pétronille
Parc Récréatif is the largest, at 1.3 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.
Most of Sainte-Pétronille is more than 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.
About 1,000 residents live further than 400 m from one. The typical Canadian town does better, at 83%.
The 41 protected areas near Sainte-Pétronille
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
Of the 41, 18 are public land; the others are privately held. At 990 ha, I.O. Saint-Jean Ouest Water Fowl Gathering Area is the largest. 22 more areas within 10 km are private land, held by landowners or conservation groups: counted here, not named.
8 more named areas within 10 km are in the figures.
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.
The nearest big park: Jacques-Cartier National Park (Québec), 32 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.
Jacques-Cartier National Park (Québec)
For a national park, people in Sainte-Pétronille travel more than 100 km. Note that Québec calls its provincial parks parcs nationaux; Sépaq manages them.
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
Sainte-Pétronille has 8 km of footpaths in and around it
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
For path density, 67% of Canadian towns do better. Woods cover more of it than in 70% 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 named walking route passes Sainte-Pétronille on the map
Named walking and hiking routes on OpenStreetMap with at least 300 m within 2 km of the town, longest first; national routes lead.
No named walking or hiking route is mapped near the town; local paths may simply not be on OpenStreetMap as routes.
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 Sainte-Pétronille
Daylight at the town’s latitude and ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals (Lauzon, 4.0 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) | 8.9 | 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 | 0 | 8 | 17 | 22 | 25 | 24 | 19 | 11 | 4 | -3 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 80 | 80 | 78 | 95 | 98 | 120 | 129 | 117 | 123 | 112 | 84 | 101 |
Winter brings about 299 cm of snow. The warmest days come in July (25 °C highs), the coldest in January (-7 °C). The wettest month is the warmest, July (129 mm); March has 78 mm. The climate in Sainte-Pétronille →
The beach near Sainte-Pétronille: Battures de Beauport, 2.1 km away
Beaches on OpenStreetMap within 5 km of the town’s edge, nearest first, with directions.
Unnamed on the map: one more. This page can’t show water quality: no open, Canada-wide record of beach testing exists. Check local advisories first.
Source: OpenStreetMap (natural=beach), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Near Sainte-Pétronille: 3 viewpoints on the map
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
Viewpoints lead the count with 3.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 3
Plus 3 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 1
Plus 1 playground without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
The garden near Sainte-Pétronille: Parc de la Chute-Montmorency, 2.8 km off
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.
Next to Sainte-Pétronille
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sainte-Pétronille | 8.7% | 41 | 0 | 2 |
| Chutes-Montmorency 4.7 km | 6.4% | 25 | 0 | 7 |
| Vieux-Bourg 5.4 km | 6.1% | 20 | 0 | 5 |
| Saint-Pierre-de-l'Île-d'Orléans 6.4 km | 11% | 59 | 0 | 3 |
| Boischatel 6.5 km | 5.9% | 25 | 0 | 6 |
| Saint-Laurent-de-l'Île-d'Orléans 7.3 km | 12% | 60 | 0 | 2 |
| Vieux-Moulin 7.4 km | 4.7% | 20 | 0 | 6 |
Its neighbours have no more than twice Sainte-Pétronille’s protected share.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Protected land. CPCAD maps each protected area; the page counts how much of the 10 km around the town they cover, lakes and sea included.
- Beaches. Beaches are OpenStreetMap’s, named or not; in the north many are unnamed shoreline imports.
- Private land. Private conservation land is in the totals, not the lists. Many such areas are easements on working farms or woodlots.
- National and provincial parks. A park at 0 km touches or overlaps the town’s outline; directions point from the town’s centre.
- Walking routes. Routes are what OpenStreetMap’s volunteers have mapped as named walking or hiking routes; many good trails aren’t mapped that way.
Questions about the outdoors in Sainte-Pétronille
When is the best time for walking in Sainte-Pétronille?
May, on the 1991–2020 normals and the daylight: long days, highs of 15 °C or more, light rain for the place.
What is the nearest provincial park to Sainte-Pétronille?
The closest is Jacques-Cartier National Park (Québec), at 32 km.
How much land around Sainte-Pétronille is protected?
Within 10 km, 8.7% of the land lies in protected areas.
Is Sainte-Pétronille near a national park?
None within 100 km of Sainte-Pétronille.
What is the nearest beach to Sainte-Pétronille?
Battures de Beauport, 2.1 km from town, is the nearest mapped beach.
What is the biggest park or reserve near Sainte-Pétronille?
Saint-Jean Ouest Water Fowl Gathering Area: 990 ha, a wildlife area.
Where Sainte-Pétronille’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.
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).