Emerald Lake, Yoho National Park

In July, we took a trip to visit the kid (who was working in Banff) and had a chance to paddle Emerald Lake in Yoho National Park. The main parking lot is small and fills quickly so Emerald is easiest to access early in the day or late. The canoe rental place opens at 10 am ($90/hour) and closes around 5. The lake gets very busy with rentals during the day.

The best put in spot is a small beach about 300 feet west of the parking lots. Go past the bathrooms to the picnic area and you're there. I don't believe they allow private boats to load off the main dock of the rental place.

The lake is spectacular, especially if the water is smooth. A deep green-blue with great reflections. The perimeter is maybe 5km around and takes 90ish minutes and a leisurely pace.

There is also a walking trail around the lake.

At the north end of the lake there is a creek the flows in. The water was high this year so I paddled about 150m upstream before it got to0 shallow and too fast for me to make progress. In the photo below you can see the silt that the creek is dumping out into the lake (the water there is very shallow).

Emerald is perhaps the prettiest lake in the Banff area and is well worth the hour drive west to Field.

The wind came up about 10 am and made for a choppier paddle (no pictures as I was too busy paddling).

After two circults and lunch, we packed up and and headed into Field to get ice cream at the hotel. Overall, a great day.  

Hanging Heart Lake, Prince Albert National Park

In July, we paddled a small portion of Hanging Heart Lake in Prince Albert National Park. Hanging Heart Lake is just north of Waskesiu and connects into the much larger Crean Lake. There are boat-in campsites on Crean Lake.

Access is through the Hanging Heart Lake Marina. There are washrooms, a boat launch, kayak and canoe rentals, and lots of parking. There is no charge to launch a kayak or canoe.

Nice boat launch and you are out into the first (and smallest) of three basins in the lake. 

Clean water, reeds on the edge, trees beyond. 

The narrows between the basins were clearly marked.

We got into the second basins and then the weather started to turn so we headed back. All three basins would be a long day of paddling.

Overall, a pretty lake. More of a fishing lake than a swimming lake, but the water was clean.

Amiskowan Lake to Shady Lake, Prince Albert National Park

In July, we were in Prince Albert National Park and did a two lake paddle: Amiskowan Lake to Shady Lake. Access is off the road that runs along the south side of the lake (top left of the map below). There is a widening in the road and room for maybe five vehicles to park (we never saw another vehicle there during our five days).

There is lots of room to unload and Amiskowan Lake is pretty. 

It is a bit of a steep entry, maybe 10 vertical feet down to the water on a steep slope. But we managed to get in with dry feet.

The lake itself is long and narrow and basically you just head east to the end, where you find the creek entrance. The lake was weedy by the first week of July and the Canadian Parks staff said it was very hard paddling in the summer.

The connecting creek is fairly interesting. The first half is just weedy oxbows against the mild current. This seemed a bit endless.

It slowly gets narrower, with a faster current, and more alpine. A good introduction to current in narrows spaces for a newer paddler.

We saw a pair of deer up close (both times coming around a blind corner to everyone's surprise). There were also herons here.

 

Then there was a low and narrow bridge. It was okay in kayaks (paddling was tough but you could use the ridges on the corrugated culvert to push yourself along).

Then out into Shady Lake, which was mostly unremarkable. Lake, reeds, trees, repeat. We did see an eagle that we chased down the lake from tree to tree.

Then you turn around and reverse the trip. It was three hours of solid paddling and was probably the most challenging trip we took in the park. 

Jenn came to appreciate it on the return trip (where the current worked with you) but that was our only paddle that day (I was bushed). Definitely an early season (or maybe autumn) paddle.

Waskesiu Lake, Prince Albert National Park

In July, we spent five days in Prince Albert National Park, primarily paddling on Waskesiu Lake. The lake was very large, but amazing. We paddled off several beaches. I've broken out some of the highlights from our time there.

Main Beach

On the eastern shore of the lake is the town of Waskesiu and the main beach. You can camp, but we stayed at the Lost Creek Resort (very nice). The main beach is about half a km of sand, with a marked swimming area, playground, washrooms, breakwater, and good parking. You can launch off the beach and go north or south. someone in town was renting paddle boards and someone else was giving kayak tours.

The beach was lovely, especially after dinner when most of the families had called it a day. Clean sand, great swimming, almost no one around.

We launched off the beach (which included wheelchair access to the water!).

To the south is Murphy's Bay. This was a very nice paddle with a rocky and forested shore that felt very much like the Canadian Shield.

It was overcast the first day but the bay was calm and it was a lovely paddle.

We also paddled north from the beach one day, up to the top of the map above and then hung out off the main beach while the sun set. We saw all of the usual birds as well as an elk and calf.

Waskesiu Marina and River

To the north of the town in the main marina. You can put in here off the boat launch; parking is in the gravel lot behind the launch. There is a launch fee for power boats but not for kayaks or canoes or SUPs. The main office also rented canoes and kayaks.

This was again a grey-day paddle for us. We went east off the Marina and up the Waskesiu River.

The river was wide and had a manageable current. it was a nice, clean paddle through reeds and fens.

You can go down as far as the bridge before buoys block the way. This was a good paddle on a rougher day out on the lake.

We saw a fox with dinner in its mouth on the way back.

First Narrows

There are a number of beaches you can paddle at as you drive up the south shore of the lake. The furthest west you can go is the First Narrows (which is about half was down the lake). 

There is a camp ground, boat launch, beach, bathrooms, etc. You could rent kayaks and canoes here. We just parked in the day-use area and went off the beach (maybe a 50-foot carry).

We chose this spot on a windy day because the spit of land that juts down from the north provides a sheltered spot to paddle. We went up the west side of the spit, along the north shore, crossed over and came back.

There was a tonne of wildlife. We saw pelicans, loons, and a lake otter.

Tripps Beach

We spent a couple of days at Tripps Beach on the south shore. This was a very clean beach with good swimming and clean toilets. There was almost no one there.

We paddled off the beach one day out to King's Island (about 2km into the lake).

The island was lovely and there were lots of fish in the shallows. Tonnes of birds, including an eagle and osprey.

Best access point to the island is the SE corner, just around a narrow spit of land.

There is a fire pit and picnic bench on the island. We then paddled west back to shore (the wind was picking up) and spent some time swimming off one of the many boat-in only beaches.

Overall, Waskesiu was an amazing lake to paddle and swim on. Lots of boats but the lake is huge so we hardly ever saw one. Clean water, sandy beaches, and no one around. It is a lot like Jasper, minus the mountains and all of the people. I'd totally go back.