Photo: Unknown artist Unknown artist · Public domainProtected land is absent from the 10 km around Dawson
The nearest provincial park, Tombstone, is 25 km away. National parks are all over 100 km off.
Each figure for Dawson, 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.
CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC, 2026), OpenStreetMap (November 2026). Distances from the town’s outline.
Of 40 towns its size, none has less protected land around it than Dawson
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (1,841 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.
Against towns its size, Dawson is weakest for public protected areas: 33 of 39 have more.
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 | Clearwater BC | 7.7% | 4.1% | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | Roberval QC | 6.1% | 1.2% | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague QC | 5.8% | 0% | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | North Frontenac ON | 5.7% | 5.2% | 13 | 6 | 4 |
| 9 | Cap-Chat QC | 5.3% | 0.4% | 13 | 0 | 10 |
| 10 | Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards ON | 4.4% | 1.5% | 9 | 0 | 4 |
| 11 | Saint-Polycarpe QC | 4.2% | 0% | 11 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | Macassa ON | 4.1% | 0% | 18 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | Saint-Damien QC | 4% | 3.2% | 22 | 1 | 9 |
| 14 | Unity SK | 3.4% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Sherwood ON | 3.4% | 0% | 19 | 2 | 0 |
| 16 | McNab SK | 2.6% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | Mandeville QC | 2.5% | 1.8% | 19 | 4 | 7 |
| 18 | Esterhazy SK | 1.8% | 0% | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | City Commercial Core ON | 1.8% | 0% | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Caswell Hill SK | 1.4% | 0% | 16 | 0 | 3 |
| 21 | Fossambault-sur-le-Lac QC | 1.3% | 7.8% | 15 | 0 | 14 |
| 22 | Pembina MB | 1.1% | 1.8% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Burrows-Keewatin MB | 1% | 0% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Elmwood AB | 0.8% | 0% | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 25 | Hatley QC | 0.7% | 0% | 9 | 0 | 5 |
| 26 | Munroe West MB | 0.4% | 0% | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Brooke-Alvinston ON | 0.3% | 0.2% | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Rosedale AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 29 | Minchau AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 30 | Lunenburg NS | 0.1% | 0% | 19 | 0 | 5 |
| 31 | Salisbury NB | 0.1% | 2.1% | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Dufferin MB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Ekota AB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 34 | Satoo AB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 35 | Saint-Éphrem-de-Beauce QC | 0% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 36 | Magrath AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Nanton AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Rimbey AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Sexsmith AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Dawson YT | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Where the green is in Dawson
The town’s parks, woods, protected land and paths, with its named places numbered.
Walk in Dawson: 3 named parks and woods
The biggest is Minto Park, 0.9 ha. Biggest first, numbered as on the map.
Dawson City Off-Leash Dog Park
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.
5 in 10 people in Dawson live near 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.
That is below the typical Canadian town (83%). About 1,000 residents live further than 400 m from one.
Within 10 km of Dawson, no land is protected
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
The nearest provincial park is Tombstone, 25 km away.
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.
Tombstone, 25 km off
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.
Tombstone
For a national park, people in Dawson travel more than 100 km.
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
33 km of paths in and around Dawson
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. 78% of Canadian towns are more wooded.
Source: OpenStreetMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Mapping varies by place: a dense figure can mean keen local mappers as much as many paths.
OpenStreetMap shows no walking route near Dawson
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.
Dawson is best on foot in May to August
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals from Dawson (13 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) | 5.4 | 8.4 | 11.5 | 14.9 | 18.3 | 21.0 | 19.7 | 16.3 | 12.9 | 9.6 | 6.3 | 4.2 |
| High (°C) | -22 | -15 | -4 | 8 | 16 | 22 | 23 | 20 | 13 | 0 | -14 | -19 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 18 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 28 | 44 | 48 | 48 | 30 | 26 | 23 | 20 |
Winter brings about 162 cm of snow. The wettest month is the warmest, July (48 mm); April has 11 mm. The warmest days come in July (23 °C highs), the coldest in January (-22 °C). The climate in Dawson →
Near Dawson: 7 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.
Look up to Midnight Dome: 887 m. Count 7 viewpoints, the biggest group.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 7
Plus 4 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 3
Playgrounds 2
Plus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks 1
Campsites 1
Source: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Next to Dawson
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page. No closer place has figures: this one lies 156 km from Dawson.
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dawson | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yukon, Unorganized 156 km | 19% | 39 | 8 | 83 |
More routes are mapped around Yukon, Unorganized (8). Around Yukon, Unorganized the protected share is at least double.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Private land. Areas held by land trusts or private owners stay unnamed here, though they count in the shares.
- 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.
- 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. The nearest national park and the nearest provincial park are always shown when they are within 100 km.
Questions about the outdoors in Dawson
When is the best time for walking in Dawson?
May to August: long days, mild highs and little rain.
How far is Dawson from a national park?
None within 100 km of Dawson.
What is the nearest provincial park to Dawson?
Tombstone, 25 km from the edge of town.
Sources for this page on Dawson
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).