Hubbles Lake

Hubbles Lake is a small spring-fed lake about 25 minutes west of Edmonton. The water quality is good and a paddle around the edge is maybe 3km or so. To get to the lake, take Highway 16 west past Stony Plain. Then turn south on Range Road 13 and go about 3km. There is a gate on the west side of the road. 

The only public access is through the Allan Beach Resort and there is a charge (we paid $12 per adult). Best to check operating hours (when we went, they opened at 10 and restricted the number of visitors). You can drive down to the lake to load and unload but you need to return to the top to park (four-minute walk?).

There is a beach and a sandy boat launch. The beach gets quite busy during the day. There are also port-a-potties and they were renting paddle boards for $25 an hour.

The shoreline is highly developed so you are basically paddling past people's cabins and an RV resort. 

We saw lots of ducks and grebes towards the west end (where it is a bit swampier).

Overall, a lovely short paddle on a clean lake. If you were inclined, you could make a day of it on the beach. 

While this is a fair bit like Moonlight Bay on Wabamun, there were many fewer boats and the bottom of the lake was sandier and the water was cleaner. 

This is probably good family lake or one to learn on. It was a bit small and over developed for my taste.

Pipestone Creek, Coal Lake

It has been a few years since I've been out to Coal Lake by Wetaskiwin. I went out this time specifically to paddle Pipestone Creek, which enters Coal lake at the south end.

Access is pretty easy. South on the 2A to Wetaskiwin, then east on Highway 13 for 15 kms until you drop down into the big valley by Gwynne. Coal lake is on the north side (you can see the berm from the road), with the turn off being marked by a truck up on top of some scaffolding. Follow the gravel road to the boat launch. There is a dock, a launch, good parking and nasty pit toilets.

Pipestone Creek is directly west of the boat launch in the swamp at the south end of the lake. When I was there, the most prominent marker was the lime green algae in the creek (the lake was clean).

Shortly after entering the creek, you go under a car bridge and, other than a house on the bluffs, you basically leave civilization behind.

The creek is a very nice paddle. Almost no current and lots of wildlife. I scared up some herons and saw lot of ducks and two hawks. There were also lots of shore birds and a couple of muskrats. Lots of beaver activity evident but I did not see any. Oh, and lots of wasp nests (but no bugs to speak of).

The algae came and went and this might be a cleaner paddle in the spring or autumn. No smell but a fair but of extra drag (which was surprising).

After about 75 minutes of paddling, I hit a pine tree down across the river (below). I could have snuck under on the right or maybe levered over on the left. Just around the bend, though, there is a large beaver dam (about a foot higher than the creek) plus lots more obstacles.

Some paddlers I met on the parking lot said you can portage around the dam but I was pooped so just turned around and went back. 

Overall, a fun paddle, especially if you like birds. I'd definitely go back in another season to see the differences.

Lac des Arcs, Banff

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.

Vermillion Lakes, Banff

We paddled the Vermillion Lakes in Banff this summer because we could rent boats there while our own boats sat out the 48-hour drying period that is now required. Access and boats rentals are on in the Bow River at the Banff Canoeing Club.

We paddled up Echo Creek, which was nice and high this year. It was also very busy with other paddlers.

We had mixed weather, with periodic cloudy/smokey periods obscuring the sun. The creek itself was lovely.

We then cut over to the lakes, having to portage a small beaver dam. The portage was short but tricky and Jenn was a real trooper here (we did not put on a master class of dismounting on a steep bank). On the way back, we just shot the beaver dam.

We paddled the first and second lake but then couldn't find the third lake and ended up meandering up the creek that feeds them. It was fairly windy and hot so, after an hour, we turned around and retraced our steps.

Echo Creek was a welcome relief from the heat and was a great float back down to the dock. 

Next time we might try paddling up the Bow instead.