Black Nugget Lake Park

Just south of Tofield is Black Nugget Lake Park. This flooded coal quarry offers an interesting paddle.

To access the lake, you need to enter the campground and check in at the office (form but no fee). Then you get directed around the west side of the lake to the boat launch. There is a nearby parking rea with picnic tables and pit toilets.

The most interesting aspect of the lake is that is follows the old coal seams so the lake has a lot of reaches and narrow passages. Basically, you are almost always going around a corner or past an island and seeing a new view. The trees and grade mean there is little wind to worry about despite the lake being located in the middle of a prairie.

There is a campground here that you can reserve spots in (meh). The water is not suitable for swimming and you wouldn't want to dump or pitch off a SUP. 

There is probably about 90-120 minutes of gentle paddling here if you do the whole perimeter. We were the only boats on the water most of the time. A couple of folks fishing out of canoes arrived as we were finishing up. There are no motorized boats.

Overall, this was a neat and easy paddle with lots of birds to watch and chase. I'm not sure we'd go back any time soon but I'm happy we went.