Smithton’s biggest
Maxwell Park
Park or garden · 220 m outside town
3.5 ha (9 acres)0.6 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.6 km of path
5 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
0.6 mi south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: don cload · CC BY-SA 2.0–Not graded
Outdoors in Smithton · parks, paths & countryside
Smithton is on the coast
The sea makes up 21% of the area within 5 km. Parks and playing fields in Smithton add up to 5.5 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical town in England and Wales has 2.1. 45 km of footpaths run through the town and the kilometre around it, 4.2 for every square kilometre. Smithton has no Outdoors Grade: Scottish towns aren’t graded on the outdoors yet.
Green space
5.5 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical town in England and Wales 2.1
Near a park
100%
of residents within 400 m
Typical town in England and Wales 83%
Footpaths
45 km
4.2 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical town in England and Wales 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
0%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Cairngorms National Park
The sea
21%
of the area within 5 km
A coastal town
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Smithton?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
On the coast21% of the area within 5 km is sea; 1 beach mapped.A park on every doorstep100% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.
Smithton’s strongest suit is the sea, followed by parks close to every home.
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Smithton’s locality.
Green space: parks, gardens, playing fields and play spaces, named or not.© OpenStreetMap contributors · Contains OS data © Crown copyright · Scottish Government, NatureScot
Places to walk
Parks to walk in, in and around Smithton
The biggest is Maxwell Park, 3.5 ha (9 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Close to home
Everyone in Smithton lives within a 5-minute walk of a park
Each square is 1 in 100 residents: green lives within 400 m of a public park, garden or playing field (NRS Census 2022 output areas against OS Open Greenspace).
Within 400 m (100%)Further (0%)
Smithton100%
Highland towns82%
Towns in England and Wales83%
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 38 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 76 residents.
National Parks & National Scenic Areas
The Cairngorms National Park is 14 mi away
Protected landscapes within 30 km, by direction and distance from the edge of the locality; circle size shows each one’s area. National Scenic Areas are Scotland’s finest landscapes, chosen by NatureScot.
National ParkNational Scenic AreaThe 5 km the grade counts
Cairngorms National Park covers 4,528 km² and has been a National Park since 2003.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
Footpaths in and around Smithton
45 km of footpaths, tracks and core paths are mapped in Smithton and the kilometre around it, 4.2 km for every square kilometre (the typical town in England and Wales has 3.0).
No named walking route is mapped within 2 km of Smithton; its footpaths are on the map above.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Scotland has no rights-of-way register: everyone has a right of responsible access to most land, so tracks and councils’ core paths count. Paths are only as complete as the map in each area.
When to get out
The best walking months in Smithton: June to September
The town’s 1991–2020 averages (Met Office HadUK-Grid) and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have 12½+ hours of daylight, highs of 15 °C or more and little rain for the town.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 7.3 | 9.3 | 11.6 | 14.2 | 16.6 | 18.0 | 17.4 | 15.2 | 12.7 | 10.2 | 7.9 | 6.6 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 13 | 9 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 70 | 59 | 53 | 43 | 55 | 62 | 60 | 65 | 62 | 78 | 66 | 73 |
April is the driest month (43 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 7 hours of daylight in December, and 78 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 43 nights a year. The climate in Smithton →
The coast
The coast and beaches near Smithton
21% of the area within 5 km of Smithton is sea. 1 beach is mapped within 5 km, 0 with a name.
Sea: the area outside the ONS coastline (mean high water). Bathing water quality is published by SEPA; check it before swimming.
Things to do
38 playgrounds
Mapped within 2 km of the town in OpenStreetMap. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
Every named place, with directions
Playgrounds 38
Plus 38 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Next door
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
WesthillCullodenMilton of LeysInvernessMuir of OrdSmithton
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smithton | – | 5.5 | 100% | 0% |
| Westhill 0.6 mi | – | 3.4 | 77% | 0% |
| Culloden 0.8 mi | – | 7.0 | 94% | 0% |
| Milton of Leys 2.2 mi | – | 10.7 | 98% | 0% |
| Inverness 2.9 mi | – | 3.5 | 89% | 0% |
| Muir of Ord 11.7 mi | – | 5.1 | 89% | 0% |
None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Smithton
What is the biggest park in Smithton?
Maxwell Park, 3.5 ha (9 acres), with 0.6 km of path, just outside the locality. 1 named park, garden or playing field is in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Smithton near a National Park?
Yes. Cairngorms National Park begins 14 mi south-east of the town’s edge. It covers 4,528 km² and has been a National Park since 2003.
How many people in Smithton live near a park?
100% of residents live within 400 m, about a 5-minute walk, of a public park, garden or playing field (NRS Census 2022 output areas against OS Open Greenspace). The typical town in England and Wales is 83%.
When is the best time of year for walking in Smithton?
June to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
How is the Outdoors Grade worked out?
From five measures, each placed among UK towns of 1,000 or more: public green space per resident, the share living near a park, National Park or National Scenic Area within 5 km, footpaths per square kilometre, and the sea within 5 km. It is a character grade and isn’t part of Smithton’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Smithton’s outdoors figures come from
- Parks and green space: Ordnance Survey OS Open Greenspace (parks and gardens, playing fields, play spaces, and their access points). Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- National Parks and National Scenic Areas: Scottish Government and NatureScot boundaries (Loch Lomond and The Trossachs, Cairngorms; the 40 National Scenic Areas), clipped to land, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Footpaths, tracks, core paths, walking routes, beaches and things to do: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License (ODbL), via Geofabrik’s Scotland extract, October 2026.
- Historic gardens, listed buildings and monuments: Historic Environment Scotland designations, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Rain and temperature: Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 averages for the town; daylight calculated from its latitude.
- The sea: ONS Countries (December 2024) boundaries clipped to mean high water. Residents near a park: NRS Scotland’s Census 2022 output areas.
- Grade: Scottish towns have no Outdoors Grade yet.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.