Lac La Biche

In late September, we spent some time in Lac La Biche, including paddling on Lac La Biche. There are really too many access points to catalogue so I'm going to focus on Sir Winston Churchill Park, which is   connected to the south shore via a causeway that starts just east of town

There is a boat launch on the east side of the spit right before the park. There are also two easy beach launches on the SW and NE corners. Given the wind, we used the NE beach. Lots of parking, picnic shelters, playground, pit toilets, tables on the beach. Carry is about 50 feet, mostly just the depth of the beach.

I imagine the park is busier in the summer; we spent a fair bit of time here and basically saw no one day after day. The beach was lovely.

My initial plan was to paddle due north to a series of islands that are about 1.5km out into the lake and then circumnavigate them. The wind was, however, from the south and pretty brisk (12-25kph) so, instead, we paddled along the north shore of the park in the lee to the NW point.

There were a tonne of birds flocking up, including pelicans and cormorants. We also hung out with three otters and saw a bunch of deer. Also signs of coyote and bear!

The shoreline was a mix of beaches and reeds giving way to forest.

A bit of a longer paddle than I'd expected (maybe 8km return) but lovely.

We got to the the NW point and the waves were too big to bother with so we turned round and came back. We later drove over the the SW beach in the campground. Basically the the same set up and carrying distances.

I wish we'd had more time to explore this huge lake (the only place in Alberta where the government gets seasonal fishing EI claims, my wife informs me). It was a truly lovely paddle.