The Jim Corbett National Park (India's oldest national park) is 63 km from Nainital, contains a wide variety of wildlife including elephant, tiger, chital, Sambar Deer, nilgai, gharial, King Cobra, muntjac, wild boar, hedgehog, common musk shrew (White-toothed shrew), flying fox (pteropus, megabat), Indian Pangolin, and nearly 600 species of birds.

Mukteshwar (2,286 m) is a picturesque town 52 km north-east of Nainital, is home to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute. It also offers an unhindered view of the high mountains of the western Himalaya, including Nanda Devi, Trisul, and Nanda Kot.

Bhimtal Lake is named after the second Pandava brother Bhima in the Mahabharata who was known for his prodigious strength. The lake, which is larger than Naini Lake, is approximately 22 km from Nainital at an altitude of 1,370 m. There is an island in the lake with a popular restaurant on it. There is also a 17th century temple complex, the Bhimeshwar, alongside a 12 m high dam at one end of the lake.

Sattal, literally Seven Lakes, is at a distance of about 23 km from Nainital in the Lower Himalayan Range at an altitude of 1,370 m. It is a cluster of small interconnected lakes in the midst of an old oak forest. On approaching Sattal, the first lake encountered is the Nal-Damyanti Lake; next it is the Panna or Garude lake; and finally there is a cluster of three lakes: Ram, Laxman, and Sita lakes.

Khurpa Tal, literally Trowel Lake, is an attractive lake about 10 km by road (or a 5 km hike) from Nainital at an altitude of 1,635 m. It is popular with anglers and is surrounded by terraced fields (or farms), from which it presumably gets its name.

Naukuchia Tal, literally, Nine-Cornered Lake, is 26 km from Nainital and 4 km from Bhimtal at an altitude of 1,220 m . The lake is almost 1 km long, 0.5 km wide and approximately 40 m deep. It is the deepest of the lakes in the greater Nainital area. According to legend, if one takes in all nine corners in one glimpse, one can disappear in a cloud of smoke.