Canada’s hiking picture combines high local participation with substantial demand for park-based travel. In 2021, 29% of Canadian households reported hiking as an outdoor activity, while 78% participated in outdoor activities close to home. Travel surveys also recorded 8.246 million hiking or backpacking activities during trips in the third quarter of 2022. These measures are not interchangeable: some describe households, some activities, and others park visits.
Contents
- Canadian household participation and local access
- Hiking during domestic and outbound travel
- Parks Canada visitation and trail service
- Provincial parks and camping supply
- Trail networks and visitor capacity
- Nature-based interest and trail spending
Canadian household participation and local access
Statistics Canada’s 2021 Households and the Environment Survey shows that outdoor recreation was widespread close to home. Seventy-eight percent of Canadian households reported participating in outdoor activities near home. The same share was reported for households in Canadian census metropolitan areas, compared with 77% outside census metropolitan areas. These are household-level results, so they do not represent the percentage of individual residents who hiked.
British Columbia recorded the highest provincial share reported in the comparison: 82% of households participated in outdoor activities close to home. Manitoba’s reported share was 72%. The difference between these figures describes reported household participation in nearby outdoor activities, not a direct provincial ranking of hiking frequency.
Walking was the most commonly reported activity in the supplied comparison, at 74% of Canadian households. Bicycling reached 35%, and going to a park or playground reached 34%. Hiking was reported by 29% of households. Jogging, running, rollerblading or cross-country running was reported by 23%.
| Outdoor activity or access measure | Canadian household share | Measurement period |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor activities close to home | 78% | 2021 |
| Walking | 74% | 2021 |
| Bicycling | 35% | 2021 |
| Going to a park or playground | 34% | 2021 |
| Hiking | 29% | 2021 |
| Jogging, running, rollerblading or cross-country running | 23% | 2021 |
Source: Statistics Canada, “More Canadians getting active outside”. Because respondents could report more than one activity, the percentages are not intended to sum to 100%.
Hiking during domestic and outbound travel
The National Travel Survey measures activities reported during trips by Canadian residents. In the third quarter of 2019, residents reported 6.901 million hiking or backpacking activities during domestic and outbound trips. The comparable figure rose to 10.197 million in the third quarter of 2021, then was 8.246 million in the third quarter of 2022.
The Q3 2022 total was reported as 19.5% above Q3 2019, or 1.346 million activities higher. These are activity counts, not unique hikers: a traveller can take part in multiple activities, and the survey allows multiple activities per trip. The period comparison is therefore useful for tracking reported travel activity, but it should not be read as a headcount.
National, provincial or nature-park visits followed a related pattern. Canadian residents reported 9.221 million such visits during trips in Q3 2019, 11.924 million in Q3 2021 and 10.182 million in Q3 2022. The Q3 2022 total was 10.4% above Q3 2019, an increase of 961,000 visits.
| Travel activity during trips | Q3 2019 | Q3 2021 | Q3 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hiking or backpacking activities | 6.901 million | 10.197 million | 8.246 million |
| National, provincial or nature-park visits | 9.221 million | 11.924 million | 10.182 million |
The National Travel Survey also reported hiking or backpacking at a rate 42.1% above Q2 2019 in Q2 2022. In Q4 2021, hiking or backpacking was 46.1% above the comparable Q4 2019 rate. Those quarterly comparisons use their stated reference quarters and should not be combined into an annual trend.
Sources: Statistics Canada, “Top domestic activities by increase, third quarter of 2022 compared with the third quarter of 2021”, National Travel Survey, second quarter 2022, and National Travel Survey, fourth quarter 2021.
Parks Canada visitation and trail service
Parks Canada’s agency-wide visitation totals show how much use is distributed across national parks and national historic sites. Visits reached 23.7 million in fiscal 2016–17, 27.2 million in fiscal 2017–18, 25.1 million in fiscal 2018–19 and 24.9 million in fiscal 2019–20. The fiscal 2020–21 total was 17.0 million, followed by 21.6 million in fiscal 2021–22 and 22.5 million in fiscal 2022–23.
In fiscal 2022–23, national parks accounted for 15.2 million Parks Canada visits, while national historic sites accounted for 7.3 million. These are agency visit totals, not counts of unique hikers. A visit can include activities other than hiking, and the geography covers Parks Canada places rather than all Canadian parks.
Trail-related service indicators provide additional context. Visitor satisfaction with trails at Parks Canada places was 91% in fiscal 2022–23. During that fiscal year, Parks Canada assessed approximately 250 kilometres of trails in national historic sites and national parks. The assessment figure is a measure of trail work or review, not the total length of the national trail network.
Source: Parks Canada Agency Departmental Results Report, 2022–2023. Fiscal-year totals are labeled as fiscal years because they are not calendar-year counts.
Provincial parks and camping supply
Provincial systems add a large share of Canada’s outdoor recreation capacity. Ontario Parks welcomed 10.8 million visits to operating provincial parks in 2019. Operating-park visitation increased 13% from 2009 to 2019. The Ontario protected-area system included more than 340 provincial parks at the time of the cited report, covering more than 82,000 square kilometres, or about 8% of Ontario’s landmass.
Ontario Parks provides more than 19,000 car-accessible campsites and more than 8,000 backcountry or wilderness campsites. These figures describe campsite supply, not the number of hikers or the number of occupied nights. The distinction matters when comparing infrastructure with demand.
BC Parks recorded 25,932,576 visits in fiscal 2018–19, 27,355,881 in fiscal 2022–23 and 27,017,596 in fiscal 2023–24. Campers represented about 13% of BC Parks visitors in the agency’s fiscal 2023–24 reporting summary. The visitor totals include park visits broadly and are not a hiking-only series.
Sources: Ontario Parks, “Recreational Use and Traditional Outdoor Heritage Opportunities” and BC Parks reports. Ontario’s current-at-publication figures and BC Parks’ fiscal figures use different reporting frameworks, so they should be read as separate system indicators.
Trail networks and visitor capacity
Jasper National Park illustrates the relationship between a large visitor base and trail infrastructure. Jasper recorded more than 2.48 million visitors in 2023. Its trail crew devoted more than 20,000 hours to trail maintenance, construction and grooming. The park had 1,070 kilometres of trails and more than 80 backcountry campgrounds in that year.
Camping demand was divided between frontcountry and backcountry use. Jasper recorded 520,700 frontcountry campers and 15,100 backcountry campers in 2023. These figures are camping counts, not a complete measure of day hikers or all trail users. They do, however, show why trail planning needs to distinguish frontcountry access from overnight wilderness capacity.
Banff National Park recorded 4.515 million visitors in 2025. Visitation was 7.14% higher than in 2024, while the peak-summer visitor count increased 9% compared with 2024. Banff frontcountry campgrounds recorded 292,033 site nights in 2025. A site night measures booked or used campground capacity, not individual visitors.
Sources: Jasper National Park 2023 Annual Report and Banff National Park Annual Report 2025. The Banff figures are for calendar year 2025, while Jasper’s cited measures are for 2023.
Nature-based interest and trail spending
The 2012 Canadian Nature Survey found that 89% of Canadian adults participated in at least one of more than 30 nature-based activities. Within that survey, hiking, climbing or horseback riding was reported by 64% of Canadian adults. Canadian adults made an estimated $41.3 billion in expenditures for nature-based activities during the 12 months before the survey, which was fielded from fall 2012 to spring 2013.
These figures are older than the 2026 publication date and are retained with their original survey period. They describe broad nature-based activity and spending, not a current hiking-only market estimate.
Destination Canada’s 2016 study found that 57% of Canadian travellers expressed interest in hiking or walking in nature. This is an interest measure rather than participation or completed-trip data.
More recent trail-spending figures come from a 2023 National Léger Survey summarized in the federal tourism strategy. Thirty-five percent of respondents had spent money while using trails during the previous 12 months, and trail users spent an average of $179 while using trails. The 35% result is not a count of hikers, and the $179 average is not a national total or a forecast.
Sources: Government of Canada, “2012 Canadian Nature Survey”, Destination Canada study summarized in Canada 365: Welcoming the World. Every Day..