Photo: Kyla Duhamel from Saskatoon, Canada · CC BY 2.035% of the land within 10 km of Candle Lake is protected
Prince Albert National Park is the closest national park, 37 km from town. One named trail is close: the Old Baldy Trail. For a swim, Waskateena Beach is the nearest of 3 beaches within 5 km.
What Candle Lake has going for it outdoors
Each figure against Canadian towns of 2,500+; tap a tile for the detail.
Candle Lake is strongest on protected land around it, with a provincial park at its edge close behind.
How Candle Lake compares with 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.
Of 40 towns its size, Candle Lake has the most protected land within 10 km
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (1,032 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.
For protected land nearby, Candle Lake tops all 39 other towns its size. For public protected areas, though, 23 of 39 are ahead.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Candle Lake SK | 35% | 13% | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Anmore BC | 22% | 47% | 16 | 5 | 98 |
| 3 | Saint-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska QC | 19% | 0% | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Gracefield QC | 19% | 19% | 34 | 0 | 6 |
| 5 | East Preston NS | 16% | 6.3% | 20 | 1 | 5 |
| 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 |
Candle Lake on the map: green space, protected land and paths
The town’s parks, woods, protected land and paths as mapped.
Most of Candle Lake 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. In the typical Canadian town the share is 83%, higher than here.
The 2 protected areas near Candle Lake
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
Each of the 2 is held by a public body. Candle Lake is the biggest, 29,575 ha.
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.
37 km to Prince Albert National Park
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.
Candle Lake Provincial Park
Prince Albert National Park
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
Candle Lake and its edge hold 7 km of footpath
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
More of it is wooded than in 82% of Canadian towns. For path density, 94% of Canadian towns do better.
Source: OpenStreetMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Mapping varies by place: a dense figure can mean keen local mappers as much as many paths.
Candle Lake has 1 named walking route
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.
Walking season in Candle Lake: May, August and September
Daylight at the town’s latitude and ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals (Prince Albert, 65 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) | 8.0 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.9 | 17.1 | 16.6 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 7.4 |
| High (°C) | -12 | -8 | -1 | 9 | 17 | 22 | 24 | 23 | 18 | 9 | -2 | -9 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 19 | 12 | 15 | 28 | 43 | 86 | 77 | 50 | 42 | 30 | 16 | 16 |
From -12 °C in January to 24 °C in July: that is the range of daytime highs. Most rain and snow falls in June, 86 mm; February sees 12 mm. The climate in Candle Lake →
Candle Lake has 3 beaches close by
Beaches on OpenStreetMap within 5 km of the town’s edge, nearest first, with directions.
The map adds 2 unnamed stretches of beach. Whether the water is fit for a swim isn’t in any open national dataset; public health posts the local advisories.
Source: OpenStreetMap (natural=beach), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Candle Lake has a viewpoint within 2 km
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
The map shows 3 slipways, ahead of the rest.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 1
Picnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 1
Plus 1 playground without a name on the map.
Dog parks 1
Slipways 3
Plus 3 slipways without a name on the map.
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Next to Candle Lake
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page. Candle Lake has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 43–47 km out.
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candle Lake | 35% | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Paddockwood No. 520 43 km | 15% | 22 | 1 | 7 |
| Lakeland No. 521 44 km | 32% | 9 | 0 | 7 |
| Montreal Lake 106 47 km | 0.8% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
None of the places nearby has twice as much protected land around it as Candle Lake.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Beaches. The count includes unnamed stretches mapped as beach, which can make a lakeside town’s figure large.
- Private land. Private conservation land is in the totals, not the lists. Many such areas are easements on working farms or woodlots.
- Walking routes. Routes are what OpenStreetMap’s volunteers have mapped as named walking or hiking routes; many good trails aren’t mapped that way.
- 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 10 km band starts at the town’s outline, not its centre, so a large municipality reaches further than a small town.
Questions about the outdoors in Candle Lake
What is the largest protected area near Candle Lake?
Candle Lake: 29,575 ha, a nature reserve.
When is the best time for walking in Candle Lake?
May, August and September, on the 1991–2020 normals and the daylight: long days, highs of 15 °C or more, light rain for the place.
How far is the nearest provincial park from Candle Lake?
Candle Lake Provincial Park, which reaches the edge of town.
Are there hiking trails near Candle Lake?
OpenStreetMap maps the Old Baldy Trail close by.
Is there a beach near Candle Lake?
Try Waskateena Beach, in town, first of several.
How much land around Candle Lake is protected?
Protected areas cover 35% of the land within 10 km.
Is Candle Lake near a national park?
Prince Albert National Park, 37 km from the edge of town.
The sources behind Candle Lake’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).