First pick
James and Marie Fox Park
Park or garden · 330 m outside town
0.4 ha
2.2 km southfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Roncanada · CC BY 4.08%protected within 10 km
Outdoors in Thurso · parks, protected land & trails
Thurso has more protected land around it than 8 in 10 Canadian towns
30 areas within 10 km are protected for nature. 14% of the town lies within a protected area. Within 100 km there is no national park.
Protected land
8%
of the land within 10 km
Typical Canadian town: 2.3%
Protected areas
30
within 10 km, 22 public
Typical Canadian town: 14
Nearest provincial park
At the edge
Plaisance National Park (Québec)
Character
What sets Thurso apart outdoors
Each figure against Canadian towns of 2,500+; tap a tile for the detail.
Protected land all round8% of the land within 10 km, more than 81% of Canadian townsMany protected areas22 public areas within 10 kmA provincial park at the edgePlaisance National Park (Québec) reaches the town
Thurso’s best card is protected land around it, with the number of public protected areas close by close behind.
Against other towns
Each figure for Thurso, 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. No letter: the outdoors is described for Canadian towns, not graded.
Protected within 10 km8%Share of the land and water within 10 km of the town’s edge in a protected or conserved area
Protected in town14%Share of the town’s own area in a protected or conserved area
Public protected areas22Areas within 10 km held by a government or an Indigenous nation
Walking routes0Named OpenStreetMap walking and hiking routes with 300 m+ within 2 km
CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC, 2026), OpenStreetMap (November 2026). Distances from the town’s outline.
Towns its size
Thurso has the 7th most protected land nearby of 40 towns its size
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (3,378 to 3,498 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
Thurso8%
Towns its size1.6%
Towns in Quebec4.9%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public protected areas
Thurso22
Towns its size3
Towns in Quebec10
Typical Canadian town4
Walking routes
Thurso0
Towns its size0
Towns in Quebec0
Typical Canadian town0
Among its peers, Thurso’s strong point is public protected areas, where 5 of 39 top it.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wellington NB | 32% | 2.4% | 5 | 0 | 16 |
| 2 | Shuniah ON | 19% | 1.4% | 13 | 1 | 2 |
| 3 | Meaghers Grant NS | 15% | 32% | 103 | 4 | 28 |
| 4 | Sables-Spanish Rivers ON | 14% | 9.7% | 10 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | Cumberland County, Subdivision A NS | 10% | 24% | 90 | 1 | 10 |
| 6 | Portneuf QC | 9.8% | 0.2% | 29 | 5 | 6 |
| 7 | Thurso QC | 8% | 14% | 30 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Mackenzie BC | 7.3% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | Electoral Area F, Columbia-Shuswap BC | 6.2% | 7.6% | 18 | 0 | 5 |
| 10 | Port Hawkesbury NS | 5.1% | 0% | 36 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Saint-Thomas QC | 5.1% | 0.5% | 27 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Havre-Saint-Pierre QC | 3.7% | 2.7% | 29 | 0 | 12 |
| 13 | Electoral Area B, North Okanagan BC | 3.7% | 4% | 17 | 0 | 30 |
| 14 | Hampton Heights ON | 3.7% | 0% | 19 | 2 | 0 |
| 15 | Merrickville ON | 2.9% | 5.8% | 12 | 5 | 2 |
| 16 | Trillium Industrial Park ON | 2.2% | 6.2% | 23 | 2 | 0 |
| 17 | Glenview West ON | 1.9% | 0% | 13 | 1 | 6 |
| 18 | Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier QC | 1.8% | 3.9% | 27 | 1 | 12 |
| 19 | West Jasper Place AB | 1.8% | 0% | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | Riverdale East ON | 1.6% | 0% | 14 | 3 | 8 |
| 21 | Brevoort Park SK | 1.5% | 0% | 17 | 0 | 2 |
| 22 | Fairfield ON | 1.4% | 0% | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Buchanan MB | 1.2% | 0.1% | 11 | 1 | 37 |
| 24 | Niakwa Place MB | 0.8% | 4.3% | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Richmond QC | 0.7% | 0% | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | Richmond County, Subdivision C NS | 0.6% | 1.8% | 27 | 0 | 31 |
| 27 | Channel-Port aux Basques NL | 0.4% | 0% | 1 | 1 | 16 |
| 28 | Lynnwood AB | 0.4% | 0% | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 29 | Coach Hill AB | 0.3% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 30 | Daly Grove AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 31 | Ramsay Heights AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 32 | Royal Gardens AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Sakaw AB | 0.2% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 34 | Lewisporte NL | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Saint-Côme--Linière QC | 0.1% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | Richfield AB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 37 | Sainte-Mélanie QC | 0% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Delwood AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Montrose AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 40 | Virginia Park AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 2 | 1 |
The map
Thurso on the map: green space, protected land and paths
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
A named park or wood to walk in near Thurso
The biggest is James and Marie Fox Park, 0.4 ha. Biggest first, 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.
Close to home
About 2 in 10 of Thurso’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 (24%)Further (76%)
Thurso24%
Towns in Quebec52%
Typical Canadian town83%
Around 2,600 residents are further than 400 m from a park. The typical Canadian town does better, at 83%.
Protected areas
The 30 protected areas near Thurso
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
Inside Thurso14%
Within 10 km8%
Towns in Quebec4.9%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
On public land: 22 of the 30. The others are private conservation land. Plaisance National Park (Québec) is the biggest, 2,810 ha. 8 areas, privately held or of unrecorded ownership, are left unnamed.
Plaisance National Park (Québec)Québec national park (provincial) · 2,810 ha · reaches Thurso
baie Perras Muskrat HabitatWildlife area · 119 ha · reaches Thurso
Terrain J.Mc-Laren à Thurso Water Fowl Gathering AreaWildlife area · 50 ha · reaches Thurso
Baie Daragon (section de la) Water Fowl Gathering AreaWildlife area · 128 ha · 0.1 km from the edge of town
Baie d'Aragon Muskrat HabitatWildlife area · 52 ha · 0.1 km from the edge of town
marais des Carouges Muskrat HabitatWildlife area · 11 ha · 0.7 km from the edge of town
Marais aux Massettes Muskrat HabitatWildlife area · 104 ha · 0.8 km from the edge of town
Baie Noire Ouest Water Fowl Gathering AreaWildlife area · 340 ha · 1.1 km from the edge of town
Baie Lochaber Muskrat HabitatWildlife area · 290 ha · 1.1 km from the edge of town
baie Noire Ouest Muskrat HabitatWildlife area · 263 ha · 1.3 km from the edge of town
12 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.
National & provincial parks
Plaisance National Park (Québec) starts at the edge of Thurso
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)
Plaisance National Park (Québec)
At the edge28 km²since 2002
Canada’s national parks are all more than 100 km from Thurso, so the parks here are provincial. Québec’s “national” parks are the province’s own, managed by Sépaq.
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
Footpaths and woods
Thurso has 4 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
3.9 km
in and around the town (24.1 km²)
Woodland
17%
about 4.1 km² of mapped woods
Footpaths · km per km²
ThursoTowns in QuebecTypical Canadian town
Footpaths0.2
012 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
ThursoTowns in QuebecTypical Canadian town
Woodland17%
0%50%100%
80% of Canadian towns have more footpath per km². More of it is wooded 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.
Walking routes
No mapped walking route near Thurso
Named walking and hiking routes on OpenStreetMap with at least 300 m within 2 km of the town, longest first; national routes lead.
The map shows no named route near the town. That says more about OpenStreetMap’s coverage than about the paths on the ground.
Source: OpenStreetMap (route relations hiking, foot and walking), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Trans Canada Trail sections as OSM maps them.
When to get out
Get out in Thurso in May and July to September
Daylight at the town’s latitude and ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals (Ottawa (City), 45 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) | 9.1 | 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 | -3 | 2 | 11 | 19 | 24 | 26 | 25 | 20 | 13 | 5 | -2 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 65 | 52 | 62 | 81 | 80 | 95 | 92 | 87 | 87 | 90 | 72 | 74 |
Highs peak near 26 °C in July and fall to -6 °C in January. Expect 95 mm in June, the wettest month, and 52 mm in February. Snow totals about 185 cm a year. The climate in Thurso →
Things to do
Near Thurso: one viewpoint on the map
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
The most common are playgrounds: 6 on the map.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 1
Plus 1 viewpoint without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 6
Plus 6 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Next door
Next to Thurso
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page.
Lochaber-Partie-OuestRocklandPlaisanceL'Ange-GardienVallée-de-la-LièvreCumberlandThurso
Under 1%1–5%5–15%15–40%40%+
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thurso | 8% | 30 | 0 | 0 |
| Lochaber-Partie-Ouest 6.8 km | 6.5% | 36 | 0 | 0 |
| Rockland 7.7 km | 5.2% | 57 | 0 | 2 |
| Plaisance 10 km | 6.1% | 41 | 0 | 1 |
| L'Ange-Gardien 13 km | 5.4% | 59 | 0 | 1 |
| Vallée-de-la-Lièvre 14 km | 4.3% | 39 | 0 | 0 |
| Cumberland 17 km | 6.7% | 50 | 0 | 1 |
Thurso is not outdone two to one on protected land by any neighbour.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Private land. CPCAD includes conservation land held privately; the page counts it and leaves the names out.
- 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. Only named route relations count; a park’s own path network may not show unless it is mapped as a route.
- 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.
Questions about the outdoors in Thurso
When is the best time for walking in Thurso?
May and July to September: long days, mild highs and little rain.
How far is the nearest provincial park from Thurso?
Plaisance National Park (Québec) begins at the town’s edge.
What is the biggest park or reserve near Thurso?
It is Plaisance National Park (Québec), a québec national park (provincial) covering 2,810 ha.
Is Thurso near a national park?
None within 100 km of Thurso.
Are there protected areas near Thurso?
Yes: 8% of the land within 10 km is protected.
Sources
The sources behind Thurso’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).