Battle Lake

In late June, I paddled most of Battle Lake, just over an hour southwest of Edmonton (near Pigeon Lake and Twin Lake). I entered on the north shore at Battle Lake Park, a campground run by the county of Wetaskiwin. I think this is the only public access, but you might be able to DIY something in the SE corner, off Range Road 15a. 

There was a nice sand/gravel launch, a dock, fish cleaning shed, and picnic tables and pit toilets up by the parking area.You can drop your boats right beside the water but then you need to park about 200 feet back. The water was pretty clean (tiny clumps of algae in places) the day I was there and there was cell reception at the launch and on the lake. None at the day-use area, though.

Battle Lake is a good sized lake, maybe 7km long and 500m wide. The day I was there it was dead calm, which was amazing. I expect this is not alway the case and there would be little shelter if you got a NW or SE wind.

I paddled the western three quarters of the lake in about two hours. The south side was basically aspen forest down to the water, broken up wth a few swampy areas and a couple of places where there were private cabins. There looks to be a bit more useable land on the north side but same kind of deal.

There were a lot of fish in the lake (must have seen 20 jumps) and also lots of birds. I saw six pelicans, including this one right across from the launch.

Things get a bit weedier as you go west, but nothing was gross.

I saw at least four loon families.

There were also the usual grebes, ducks, gulls, etc. And two large geese families.

The northern end of the lake was occupied by a bunch of pelicans (can't really see them in the picture below, but they were there) so I left them alone and didn't explore up the inflow. 

The trip back was just amazing. A few more clouds and a slight breeze at the end, but a very nice paddle. I was too tired to try the eastern portion of the lake.

It looks like the campground also has a beach (I didn't see that before I went so I didn't drive through to it). There is also the Battle Lake interpretative trail that I was too tired to walk!

Twin Lake

In June, I drove out towards Drayton Valley to try my luck at Twin Lake, just a little east of Winfield.  The County of Wetaskiwin runs a campground here. Day-use is free and the lake has no power boats. There was good cell coverage pretty much everywhere.

When you pull in, you can park right by the water (I was within 20 feet) and there is a sand/gravel launch, a dock, picnic tables, garbage cans, and pit toilets. I'm not sure what the deal is on potable water here. There is also a kayakomat rental unit.

The water was crystal clear and the lake has a very boreal vibe. Basically fir trees down to the waterline.

There is a better swimming beach to the east but access is steep.

The lake is only about 1km long so you can paddle the perimeter in both directions in about an hour. The more interesting parts are the creeks at each end. The creek at the east end is the inflow and is shallow but you can go a little ways. The beaver dam that is a couple of hundred feet upstream had been breached somehow so I bum scooted over the shallow part and then kept going. It got progessively shallower quite quickly so I gave up.

I did see two loons and I scared up a heron who was fishing when I came around the corner.

The west of the lake has the outflow and it is a bigger creek.

It winds some, the current is very gentle, and there is a narrow bit (stream bisected by an island--choose the wider channel)

I got down past the power lines and there was another beaver dam here.

It had also been breached, either by someone digging it out or maybe by the significant rainfall we'd had the week before?

I could definitely get the boat through the narrows but I wasn't sure I'd be able to get back. Since the land all around was a boggy nightmare and I am way to old to be hauling a boat through a swamp on foot, I decided to turn around. It looks like the creek crosses Highway 20 just south of Winfield.

Overall, a pretty nice paddle. It would be great for kids or first timers. It was a bit of a drive (90 minutes) but could be combined with a paddle on Battle Lake, Buck Lake or Pigeon Lake. You could also camp here, although the amenities are modest.

Haunted Lakes

In mid-June, I drove down to the Haunted Lakes just NE of Red Deer and due east of the town of Alix. Access to the northern lake is through the Aix campground. You can park right beside the lake and put a boat in on a sandy beach anywhere in the yellow oval below.

There are picnic tables, fire pits, and port-a-potties here as well as a picnic shelter and small playground. The water was pretty clear the day I was there but I don't think the lake would be great for swimming and is like to be pretty weedy by summer. There is also an algae sign but there was no algae.

I was unable to find access to the southern lake and didn't put in here. You could probably DIY something just off Highway 601. The lakes do not join together (I figured there would be a bridge you could paddle under or something).

The northern lake was shallow and there were lots of birds, including bunch of yellow-headed black birds. I also ran into two deer browsing.

The edge is a mix of aspen forest and open fields. 

Overall, a nice enough paddle once. I didn't see anything that would draw me back a second time. I also checked out Alix Lake, located in the village of Alex. There is a sand/gravel boat launch (below) and a park. The lake was pretty reedy and there was already some algae growth.

I didn't have time to paddle a second lake so no real sense of what it hold.

Narrow Lake

In early June, I drove up to Narrow Lake, just south of Athabasca. This lake is very close to Long Lake and the Forfar Recreation Area but is far less used. I was the only person on the lake while I was there.

The best (and, I think, only) access is on the east side . Google calls this the Narrow Lake Campground, but it is a day-use area. There are about a dozen picnic sites with tables and fire pits (bring your own wood), a pit toilet, garbage cans. There is also a dock and a small sandy boat launch and tiny beach area.

The water is crystal clear (you could see light-coloured tree trunks down 20 feet or more in the light) and I'd think this would be a good place to swim. The lake, as per its name, is narrow and runs SW-NE. It is about 8km around and took me 2.5 hours.

Basically you get aspen forest down to the waterline all the way around. There is a camp down at the south end with a beach-y area. And there is a reedy part in the north and south ends.

There was lots of evidence of beavers and there were also several pairs of loons.

More interestingly, I ran into an otter that huffed at me and tried to draw me away from its den. All of my photos of the otter were really grainy Loch Ness monster quality (sorry!).

Overall, this was a very nice lake to paddle. Super clean, easy access, no one about. Oh, there was also good cell reception on the lake but almost none in the day-use area.

Long Island Lake

Back in early June, I took a trip up to Long Island Lake, which is about 30 minutes north of Westlock. This shouldn't be confused with Island Lake, or Long Lake (Forfar Recreation Area) or Long Lake Provincial Park, all immediately to the east by Athabasca.

Public access is through the Long Island Lake Municipal Campground and requires a $10/car (plus GST) day pass. The lady operating the gate said that the day use area can fill up by 10 am on a summer weekend. It was unclear to me (1) when the campground opens and closes for the season or (2) whether there is access to the boat launch of the campground is closed, so I'd call ahead if you are planning on an early- or late-season visit.

The campground was nice with a nice sandy boat launch and parking and pit toilets 200 feet away. There is also a lovely beach and swimming area (picture below). The water was crystal clear (could see down between 6 and 8 feet pretty much everywhere in the lake) with no signs of algae. 

The lake is shaped like a pot, with the handle extending from the south-east corner. In the middle of the main lake area is an island (long, as it happens). It looks like you could access the island (which is hilly, treed, and full of rose bushes) from several spots on the west side.

I paddled around the perimeter of the lake counter clock-wise. It was about a three-hour paddle at a moderate pace. There were lots of loons and ducks and fish but nothing too notable.

From a paddling perspective, the island in the centre and the long reach to the south-east (which ends at Larkspur) were the most interesting parts.

The surrounding countryside is mostly aspen forest which comes right to the edge of the water. There were folks out fishing and it looked like there were pike and perch in the lake.

The days area (below) includes a large beach, a swimming area, two docks, a floating platform, and some playground equipment. No food or drink on the beach was the rule that jumped out at me. There are picnic tables in shady grass at the back.

Overall, a very nice lake and I'd go back (maybe in the autumn when the leaves are turning). The beach would make for a nice day trip if you liked to swim and such. Weekends are again much busier.