Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: abdallahh from Montréal, Canada · CC BY 2.075 areas within 10 km are protected for nature. Biggest among them: Îles de la Girodeau - Grande Île Water Fowl Gathering Area, 4,676 ha, 2.6 km off. 68 km separate the town from La Mauricie National Park, its nearest national park.
Each figure against Canadian towns of 2,500+; tap a tile for the detail.
Out of doors, Sorel-Tracy leads with protected land around it, with the number of public protected areas close by close behind.
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.
CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC, 2026), OpenStreetMap (November 2026). Distances from the town’s outline.
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (34,129 to 39,194 residents), by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected. Hover for each one’s figures; click for its page.
For protected land nearby, Sorel-Tracy sits near the top of its size group: 9 of 39 have more.
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pointe-Claire QC | 33% | 0.2% | 40 | 0 | 6 |
| 2 | Panorama Ridge BC | 23% | 13% | 181 | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | Strawberry Hill BC | 20% | 0.8% | 158 | 4 | 2 |
| 4 | Pierrefonds-Est QC | 18% | 3.1% | 40 | 0 | 6 |
| 5 | Port Moody BC | 16% | 23% | 48 | 5 | 102 |
| 6 | Côte-Saint-Luc QC | 14% | 0% | 27 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | Bois-Francs QC | 14% | 1.4% | 39 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | Cecil-P.-Newman QC | 14% | 0% | 25 | 0 | 5 |
| 9 | Clayton Park West NS | 13% | 0% | 18 | 13 | 7 |
| 10 | Sorel-Tracy QC | 12% | 0% | 75 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | Penticton BC | 12% | 1% | 26 | 0 | 61 |
| 12 | Sainte-Dorothée QC | 12% | 3.7% | 45 | 0 | 5 |
| 13 | Marc-Aurèle-Fortin QC | 7.1% | 0.5% | 30 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Sunset BC | 6.9% | 0% | 15 | 0 | 9 |
| 15 | Edmonds BC | 6.2% | 0% | 40 | 4 | 8 |
| 16 | Grande-Prairie QC | 5% | 0% | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Hastings-Sunrise BC | 4.7% | 0% | 12 | 4 | 27 |
| 18 | Mount Pleasant BC | 4.2% | 0% | 12 | 4 | 73 |
| 19 | Duvernay QC | 4.1% | 1.2% | 56 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | North Cowichan BC | 3.9% | 2.3% | 72 | 7 | 10 |
| 21 | Langley BC | 3.2% | 0% | 95 | 3 | 0 |
| 22 | Neufchatel Est—Lebourgneuf QC | 3.2% | 0% | 26 | 1 | 4 |
| 23 | Le Boisé Champêtre QC | 3.2% | 0% | 37 | 0 | 2 |
| 24 | Campbell River BC | 3% | 7.3% | 27 | 0 | 2 |
| 25 | Beverley Glen ON | 2.8% | 0% | 30 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Metrotown BC | 2.5% | 0% | 21 | 3 | 6 |
| 27 | Sainte-Rose QC | 1.9% | 0.1% | 35 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Parkland County AB | 1.6% | 1.3% | 69 | 15 | 5 |
| 29 | Stratford ON | 1.5% | 0% | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 30 | Leamington ON | 1.3% | 5.5% | 2 | 0 | 16 |
| 31 | Whitehorse YT | 1.3% | 4.5% | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 32 | Dieppe NB | 1.2% | 0% | 15 | 0 | 1 |
| 33 | Meadowvale ON | 0.8% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Orillia ON | 0.7% | 0.1% | 17 | 4 | 7 |
| 35 | Fort Erie ON | 0.5% | 0.1% | 6 | 0 | 12 |
| 36 | Moose Jaw SK | 0.5% | 3.3% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Central Erin Mills ON | 0.5% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | LaSalle ON | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Erin Mills ON | 0.1% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Fergus ON | 0% | 0% | 4 | 8 | 2 |
Green space, woods, protected areas and footpaths in and around the town; tap a number for its park or wood.
The biggest is Parc régional des Grêves - Secteur de la Colonie des Grèves de Contrecoeur, 168 ha. Biggest first, numbered as on the map.
Parc régional des Grêves - Secteur de la Colonie des Grèves de Contrecoeur plus Parc Regard-sur-le-Fleuve account for 82% of the green.
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.
The usual figure for a Canadian town is 83%, above this. About 12,000 residents live further than 400 m from one.
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
Of those 75, 24 are public and the remainder private. Biggest of the named areas: Îles de la Girodeau - Grande Île Water Fowl Gathering Area, 4,676 ha. The figures include 29 private conservation areas, left unnamed.
1 more named area within 10 km is in the comparison 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.
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.
Nearer still is Îles-de-Boucherville National Park (Québec), a provincial park 43 km away. 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.
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).
For path density, 76% of Canadian towns do better. Woods cover more of it than in 73% 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.
There is no mapped walking route within 2 km of the town; 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.
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals from Fleury (27 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) | 9.0 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.4 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°C) | -6 | -4 | 2 | 11 | 19 | 24 | 26 | 25 | 21 | 13 | 6 | -2 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 81 | 61 | 71 | 96 | 98 | 102 | 106 | 114 | 97 | 108 | 90 | 85 |
Expect around 202 cm of snow over a winter. Rain and snow peak in August (114 mm) and ease in February (61 mm). July is the warmest month, with highs around 26 °C; January the coldest, at -6 °C. The climate in Sorel-Tracy →
Beaches on OpenStreetMap within 5 km of the town’s edge, nearest first, with directions.
One more beach goes unnamed. Water quality isn’t shown: there’s no open national record of beach tests. Local health authorities post advisories.
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.
Most numerous: playgrounds (8).
Plus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Plus 8 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Plus 5 slipways without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sorel-Tracy | 12% | 75 | 0 | 2 |
| Saint-Joseph-de-Sorel 2.1 km | 12% | 38 | 0 | 0 |
| Saint-Ignace-de-Loyola 4.4 km | 17% | 92 | 0 | 5 |
| Sainte-Victoire-de-Sorel 6.4 km | 6.9% | 41 | 0 | 1 |
| Sainte-Anne-de-Sorel 6.8 km | 18% | 83 | 0 | 4 |
| Berthierville 7.8 km | 9.1% | 27 | 0 | 0 |
| Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier 10 km | 9% | 66 | 0 | 0 |
Around Sorel-Tracy, nobody nearby has double its protected land.
Plage du Survenant, 3.6 km from town, is the nearest mapped beach.
It is Îles-de-Boucherville National Park (Québec), 43 km away.
Yes: 12% of the land within 10 km is protected.
It is Îles de la Girodeau - Grande Île Water Fowl Gathering Area, a wildlife area covering 4,676 ha.
It is La Mauricie National Park, 68 km off.
May to July and September, on the 1991–2020 normals and the daylight: long days, highs of 15 °C or more, light rain for the place.
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).