First pick
Parc du Cercle des Pierres
Park or garden
15 ha1.5 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.5 km of path
1.3 km eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Chicoutimi · CC BY-SA 3.00.3%protected within 10 km
Outdoors in Stanstead · parks, protected land & trails
Protected land is scarce around Stanstead: 0.3% within 10 km
The 10 km around town hold 4 protected areas. The nearest national park is more than 100 km away. For a swim, Plage Weir is the beach within 5 km.
Protected land
0.3%
of the land within 10 km
Typical Canadian town: 2.3%
Protected areas
4
within 10 km, 1 public
Typical Canadian town: 14
Nearest provincial park
31 km
Mont-Orford National Park (Québec)
Beaches
1
within 5 km (OpenStreetMap)
Against other towns
Each figure for Stanstead, set against 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. This page carries no grade, because Canada’s grading doesn’t cover the outdoors; the comparisons are the point.
Protected within 10 km0.3%Share of the land and water within 10 km of the town’s edge in a protected or conserved area
Protected in town0%Share of the town’s own area in a protected or conserved area
Public protected areas1Areas within 10 km held by a government or an Indigenous nation
Walking routes0Named OpenStreetMap walking and hiking routes with 300 m+ within 2 km
Beaches1Beaches mapped on OpenStreetMap within 5 km
CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC, 2026), OpenStreetMap (November 2026). Distances from the town’s outline.
Towns its size
Among 40 towns its size, Stanstead is 9th from the bottom for protected land
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (2,951 to 3,037 residents), by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected. Hover for each one’s figures; click for its page.
Protected within 10 km
Stanstead0.3%
Towns its size2.1%
Towns in Quebec4.9%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public protected areas
Stanstead1
Towns its size4
Towns in Quebec10
Typical Canadian town4
Walking routes
Stanstead0
Towns its size0
Towns in Quebec0
Typical Canadian town0
Against towns its size, Stanstead is weakest for protected land nearby: 31 of 39 have more.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cocagne NB | 39% | 4.3% | 6 | 0 | 8 |
| 2 | Electoral Area C, Strathcona BC | 12% | 8.1% | 61 | 0 | 170 |
| 3 | Elkford BC | 12% | 16% | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Vanscoy No. 345 SK | 11% | 4.2% | 25 | 0 | 3 |
| 5 | Saint-Marc-des-Carrières QC | 10% | 0% | 16 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | McDougall ON | 10% | 4.1% | 16 | 0 | 9 |
| 7 | Lac-des-Écorces QC | 8.8% | 4.5% | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Saint-Roch-de-Richelieu QC | 8.6% | 0.1% | 29 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | Riverside Park South - Revelstoke ON | 8.3% | 6.2% | 33 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | Gilkson ON | 7.1% | 0% | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Kirkendall South ON | 6.9% | 0.9% | 23 | 2 | 3 |
| 12 | Buchanan ON | 6.3% | 0% | 22 | 1 | 3 |
| 13 | Saint-Anaclet-de-Lessard QC | 4.9% | 0% | 11 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | Bainbridge BC | 4% | 0% | 23 | 3 | 26 |
| 15 | North Shore PE | 3.6% | 7.3% | 19 | 11 | 18 |
| 16 | Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil QC | 3.6% | 0.1% | 26 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Dewdney Place SK | 3.1% | 90% | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 18 | Huntingdon QC | 3% | 0% | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Granville AB | 2.5% | 0% | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Lesser Slave River No. 124 AB | 2.4% | 2.2% | 25 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Holliston SK | 1.8% | 0% | 17 | 0 | 2 |
| 22 | Poplar Park ON | 1.6% | 0% | 15 | 1 | 7 |
| 23 | Albany AB | 1.6% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | South Portage MB | 1.5% | 0% | 20 | 4 | 0 |
| 25 | Trillium ON | 1.4% | 0% | 18 | 1 | 5 |
| 26 | East Garafraxa ON | 1.1% | 0.6% | 16 | 4 | 0 |
| 27 | Varsity View MB | 1.1% | 0% | 19 | 1 | 37 |
| 28 | Hillcrest Management Area SK | 0.9% | 0% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Wallace-Woodworth MB | 0.8% | 0.1% | 32 | 0 | 1 |
| 30 | Lorne MB | 0.7% | 0% | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | Sunnyside AB | 0.4% | 0% | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 32 | Stanstead QC | 0.3% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 33 | Kernohan AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 34 | Lauderdale AB | 0.3% | 0% | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 35 | Skyrattler AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 36 | Markstay-Warren ON | 0.2% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Allendale AB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 38 | Avonmore AB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 39 | Division No. 1, Subdivision E NL | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 40 | Lago Lindo AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The map
The green map of Stanstead
The town’s parks, woods, protected land and paths, with its named places numbered.
Green: OpenStreetMap parks, gardens, playing fields and woods. Hatched: CPCAD protected areas.© OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL); CPCAD (OGL-Canada)
Places to walk
5 named parks and woods to walk in near Stanstead
The biggest is Parc du Cercle des Pierres, 15 ha. Biggest first, numbered as on the map.
5 named parks and woods, 23 ha in all
Parks & gardens 23 ha
Parc du Cercle des Pierres plus Parc des Générations account for 82% of the green.
Parc des Générations
Park or garden
3.6 ha0.1 km of path
1.6 km eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
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.
Close to home
About 2 in 10 of Stanstead’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.
Within 400 m (18%)Further (82%)
Stanstead18%
Towns in Quebec52%
Typical Canadian town83%
For comparison, the typical Canadian town has 83%. Around 2,500 residents are further than 400 m from a park.
Protected areas
Stanstead has 4 protected areas within 10 km
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
Inside Stanstead0%
Within 10 km0.3%
Towns in Quebec4.9%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
1 of the 4 are on public land. 3 areas belong to private owners or land trusts and aren’t named here.
Proposed Michael-Dunn Biodiversity ReserveNature reserve · 118 ha · 1.1 km from the edge of town
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 & provincial parks
31 km to Mont-Orford National Park (Québec)
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.
National parkProvincial park
Québec national park (provincial)
Mont-Orford National Park (Québec)
31 km north59 km²since 1979
Canada’s national parks are all more than 100 km from Stanstead, 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.
Footpaths and woods
Stanstead has 27 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
27 km
in and around the town (53 km²)
Woodland
44%
about 23.5 km² of mapped woods
Footpaths · km per km²
StansteadTowns in QuebecTypical Canadian town
Footpaths0.5
012 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
StansteadTowns in QuebecTypical Canadian town
Woodland44%
0%50%100%
For woods, it beats 81% of Canadian towns. 66% of Canadian towns have more footpath per km².
Source: OpenStreetMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Mapping varies by place: a dense figure can mean keen local mappers as much as many paths.
Walking routes
No mapped walking route near Stanstead
Named walking and hiking routes on OpenStreetMap with at least 300 m within 2 km of the town, longest first; national routes lead.
OpenStreetMap lists no walking route near the town, though paths on the ground may well exist.
Source: OpenStreetMap (route relations hiking, foot and walking), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Trans Canada Trail sections as OSM maps them.
When to get out
Walking season in Stanstead: May and July to September
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals from Coaticook (29 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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°C) | -5 | -3 | 2 | 10 | 18 | 22 | 25 | 24 | 20 | 12 | 5 | -2 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 85 | 74 | 80 | 90 | 108 | 130 | 120 | 120 | 104 | 110 | 91 | 106 |
Winter brings about 291 cm of snow. The wettest month, June, brings 130 mm, against 74 mm in February. The warmest days come in July (25 °C highs), the coldest in January (-5 °C). The climate in Stanstead →
Beaches
For a swim near Stanstead: Plage Weir, 3.5 km off
Beaches on OpenStreetMap within 5 km of the town’s edge, nearest first, with directions.
Plage Weir3.5 km from town
DirectionsThis 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.
Things to do
Near Stanstead: 10 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.
Count 5 picnic sites, the biggest group.
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 1
Plus 1 peak without a name on the map.
Picnic sites 5
Plus 5 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 4
Plus 4 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Next door
Next to Stanstead
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page.
StansteadAyer's CliffStanstead
Under 1%1–5%5–15%15–40%40%+
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stanstead | 0.3% | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Stanstead 14 km | 1.3% | 31 | 0 | 6 |
| Ayer's Cliff 19 km | 0.2% | 5 | 0 | 3 |
For protected land, Stanstead has twice as much or more.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Beaches. A beach counts when its centre point lies within 5 km of the town’s outline. Names come from the map.
- National and provincial parks. National parks are Parks Canada’s; provincial parks are the province’s or territory’s, Québec’s parcs nationaux among them.
- Protected land. The share is of the land and water within 10 km of the town’s outline, from CPCAD’s mapped areas; marine areas count, so a coastal town can score high on water.
- Private land. Land owned by individuals, companies or conservation groups counts toward the figures but is never named: a person’s land isn’t a place to visit.
- 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 Stanstead
Is there protected land near Stanstead?
Within 10 km, 0.3% of the land lies in protected areas.
What is the nearest beach to Stanstead?
The nearest is Plage Weir, 3.5 km from town.
Is there a provincial park near Stanstead?
Mont-Orford National Park (Québec), 31 km from the edge of town.
What is the biggest park or reserve near Stanstead?
Proposed Michael-Dunn Biodiversity Reserve: 118 ha, a nature reserve.
What is the best season to get outdoors in Stanstead?
On the normals, May and July to September: that is when days are long, highs reach 15 °C and rain is light.
How far is Stanstead from a national park?
The nearest national park is more than 100 km from Stanstead.
Sources
The sources behind Stanstead’s outdoors figures
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).