Every year as a kid, we'd drive to Banff and I'd see this tiny island Lac des Arcs from the highway. It always had a picnic table, or tent, or flag on it. I always dreamed of visiting it. This year, we stopped to paddle out there.
Access was from the east end of the lake in the Lac des Arcs campground, just east of Canmore. You can pull to within about 12 feet of the water. There are also pit toilets, picnic tables, and a picnic shelter. This campground is a part of the new Kananaskis improvement fee area, so you need to buy a daily (or annual) pass online before you arrive.
We paddled along the highway up to the island, crossed the lake, and then came back on the dyke they put in in the mid 1990s. There was a bit of smoke in the sky that day so the pictures are a touch hazy. We could have paddled the whole perimeter for two-ish hours but only had an hour to spare so just did half the lake.
The island was tiny and rocky and covered in goose poop. It would be fairly easy to access from a canoe but tricker from a kayak so we just paddled around it.
The limestone plant across the river is a pretty dominant sight and we watched trucks and dozers work. There were a few birds left on the lake and we saw a bald eagle at one point.
The water was calm. Given the valley, I imagine it could get choppy pretty quickly when a wind comes up.
Overall, a nice enough paddle. I probably wouldn't go back (Two-Jack in Banff is fair prettier) but I'm happy to have had the chance to paddle out to the island.
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