Barnett Lake

A lake I have always looked at while driving back and forth to Calgary is Barnett Lake at Lacombe. I'm usually hot and cranky by the time we pass Burman University (which sits on the bluffs overlooking the lake) but don't have time to stop and paddle. This summer I built in an extra couple of hours so I could.

Access is at the green arrow on the map above. You have to go into Lacombe and work your way up 50th Street until it forks and then take the left fork (Range Road 270A). Parking is DIY.

There is a small gravel beach that you can get in from. The water is iced tea coloured but no algae or smell. Probably not a swimming lake, through.

Highway 2 runs along the western edge and you can see cars at the north edge (and hear them).

The eastern shore is forested and the water level came up at some point and killed a bunch of trees. There is also (on the eastern side) a weird set of metal posts (not pictured) that suggest either a fence or maybe a submerge guardrail and road?

The lake was pretty calm the day I was thee and I was the only paddler.

I performed a couple of search and rescues for various bugs. There were a crazy number of damsel flies on the south shore (enough it was hard to keep them out of my face while I paddled).

Burman University (which was a bible college by various names previously) sits on the north bluffs.

There were a fair number of birds on the lake (pelican, cormorants, grebes, coots, and loons. I accidentally chased a bunch of baby coots.

No while life. It looks like you could walk around the lake if you worked at it (there are paths on the eastern shore and you could DIY on on the west.

It was about a 45-minute paddle around the edge. Overall, a pretty enough lake. Not really worth making a special trip for but, you were there, you could drop in. Just to the east (more inside the town limits) is Empress Lake. I didn't scope out a launch site here. Maybe next time.

Mink Lake

I tried my luck at Mink Lake in July. I've driven past this lake dozens of times on my way to other places nearby but I've never stopped. Access is off Highway 16, turning south down Highway 770 at the Carvel corner. It is about 8 km south from the turn off on the west side of the road.

The only good access I could find was through the Mink Lake RV campground It costs $22 per car to use their boat launch for the day. The launch is fine and easy. It looks like some folks have DIYed access off Highway 770 through a farmer's field. The field is planted in crops so I didn't stop here.

The lake is basically a reedy edge with a mixture of crop-land and trees behind it. The lake is also pretty weedy and full of fish.

There are two basins. The southern basin (where you launch) has a lot of road noise from the highway. The lake is small and shallow so it is pretty calm. 

The northern basin is quieter and bound on the north by the main CN line. So, periodically, you get a train.

The campsite also has a small beach with a swim platform. The water was pretty clean.

Overall, I'm glad I tried it but I wouldn't go back. There are nicer lakes nearby (Mayatan, Johnny's, Star, Muir) that are free. If I was going to pay, I'd try Hubbles (swimming!) or Jackfish (more interesting wildlife and shoreline).

Islet Lake

In late July, I popped out to Islet Lake one afternoon. I figured it would be quiet midweek but there was a kids canoeing camp plus a half dozen other paddlers. The launch is small but I managed to sneak my boat through the crowd.

The water was, as usual, like dark tea with a few weeds and a few patches of algae. Nothing too bothersome but not a place to swim!

It was also, as usual, rough, then calm, then rough again.

The good news was that the pace was lousy with birds. There were 30 pelicans on the water or in the air at one point. Plus loons, shore birds, and ducks.

Most interesting were the large number of cormorants that were drying their feathers in various dead trees around the edge of the lake (50 at least).

Overall, a nice enough paddle. Not super interesting and no wildlife beyond the birds. The staging area facilities were nicely maintained and it was nice to see so many kids using it.

Crimson Lake

In July, we drove back from Banff along Highway 22 and stopped in at Crimson Lake near Rocky Mountain House. The lake is located in a provincial park with a campground, store, public beach, and boat launch.

We were there on a Saturday and the place was very busy by lunch time. We chose to launch at the boat launch since you could drive right up to the lake. There was a dock, ramp and also a "sandy" beach (that is actually signed as a mud pit). Parking is in a lot maybe 3 minutes walk from the launch.

The lake is about 1 km in diameter and maybe 5 or 6 km around. There is a walking/cycling trail around the lake that runs about 10km. The lake edge basically looks like the photo above: reeds that give way to boreal forest.

There is a modest island in the centre of the lake. The only real aces point we could find was on the NW side of the island but it was busy so we didn't stop to explore. The lake is quite shallow (you can see the sandy bottom in most places) and warm.

The public beach is very popular (being close to town). The picture above shows about half of the beach. There were 20+ kayaks, paddle boards, and floaties near the shore. There were also motorized boats out fishing and tubing in the middle of the lake.

Rundle Forebay Reservoir, Canmore

Above the town of Canmore is the Spray Lakes Reservoir, a terraced series of reservoirs. In July, we paddled the Rundle Forebay Reservoir, which is the lowest terrace. To access this, we were required to buy a Kananaskis park pass from the province.

Access is off the Three Sisters Parkway by the Canmore Nordic Centre. There is parking at the edge of the reservoir as soon as you cross the dam and additional parking up at the Nordic Centre. The carry is about 100 feet to the edge of the water and the entry is easy off a gravel beach.

The picture above is a panorama of the mountains looking towards the far end of the reservoir.

This is an easy paddle that is about 3km round trip. There is a very slight current but nothing to be worried about.

Once you leave the main bay you are working your way up a canal with trees on the left and a berm on the right. People walk and cycle the berm.

At the far end, there is another larger bay and you can see where the second terrance drops down.

The pano-shot above looks back towards Canmore.

A lovely and easy paddle. The reservoir got quite busy the day we were there with paddle boarders and kayakers and some brave swimmers (t was cold!).

When we were done, we headed to nearby Quarry Lake for lunch and a swim. There are charging for parking here now.

It was nearly 30 degrees the day we were there and the beach was hopping.