Jackfish Lake

In early September, I went out to Jackfish Lake for a quick paddle. I used the public boat launch in the day use area just off Highway 770 (Weekend Estates turn). Note that google maps at time of writing does not exactly match the new entry the county has constructed off of Highway 770 (which is 100 meters south and requires a tiny bit of backtracking once of the highway--no big deal, just slightly different than shown).

A nice clean launch with a dock, pit toilets, picnic tables, and a goodly amount of parking. If you stay after 4:30 on a weeknight or go any time on a weekend, there is a parking fee (I think $20).

I decided to head up to the northern half of the lake this trip as it had been years (2015?) since I'd gone that way. As soon as I got away from the dock, a wind front came through and the lake got moderately choppy. 

It wasn't too bad on the western edge but trying to get into the most northernly basin was a bit of a paddle. Other than a surprise lap full of water, it was a fun paddle and the wind eventually gave up.

The lake is basically a mix of cabins and stretches of reeds in front of aspen forest. There were a lot of birds on the water but not much else happening. The water was very clean.

Overall, a nice paddle and I was happy to evade the parking charge by going early in the morning.

If I get a chance to go back, I'll give the southern half of the lake a go. I think I was here with Jess a few years ago but we didn't do much of the perimeter.