Athabasca River, Athabasca

During  recent work trip, I managed to get an hour in to paddle on the Athabasca River, which flows past the town of Athabasca. I've paddled the Athabasca in Jasper but never this far downstream.



Access is really easy, with Highway Two depositing you right a the river's edge in a lovely park. There is a boat launch right there and ample parking.

I paddled upstream about 45 minutes until I started to lose the light and then floated back. The river is a bit larger than the North Saskatchewan and had a pretty decent current, even late in the autumn.

The autumn leaves made for a nice paddle. It might be more fun to do this paddle with a shuttle arrangement.

My time was limited during this trip but nearby Island Lake and Baptiste Lake to the west and Lawrence Lake to the north look like good places to try the next time I'm up (in the summer!).

There is also Skeleton Lake and North Buck Lake to the east (the latter has a provincial park).