Astotin Lake

In mid-September I took an afternoon paddle on Astotin Lake in Elk Island National Park.  It had been a few years since I've been out here to paddle.

 

The Park has continued to upgrade its facilities and there is now some kind of snack bar (weekends, it looks like) at the beach. The dock was also nice and there are boat rentals to be had. I went off of the beach instead of the boat launch and it was a touch green getting in!

The water further form shore was the usual iced-tea colour and the water level looked higher this year than in the past by several feet.

I paddle out to the island in front of the beach and then wound my way through the islands on the south half of the lake.

It was a rare calm day on the lake and I had it to myself mid-week.

I ran across a young coyote hunting on the shoreline of the large island in the SW corner of the lake. I watched him for about 10 minutes before he noticed me.

Getting out without putting a foot in the algae was entertaining (well, for those watching!).

Overall, a lovely trip just as the colour was starting to change. I also saw a bison and a tonne of waterfowl flocking up for migration.