In late April, we had our first hot day and so we headed out to Mayatan Lake. The lake was open and deserted. The launch was easy but there was a bit of slime at the entry (had to scrub it off of the boats when we got home) so we made sure to get in dry footed.
Saturday, June 28, 2025
Mayatan Lake
There were a lot of birds in the western basin, including loons and coots. There were no weeds this early and the water was quite murky still (usually clears up by summer).
Saturday, June 21, 2025
Lacombe Lake
In late April, I stopped at Lacombe Lake on the way back from Calgary. I use the public boat launch off Township Road 402 in the NE corner of the lake.
I went back out into the main lake and worked my way to the south end of the lake.
The picture below gives you a pretty good sense of the overall experience. The shore is reeds that give way to aspen and fir forest. There are hills on the east side and a farm on the west side.
The wind really came up for the trip back. I usually paddle about 4 km an hour (very average). The trip back down the lake saw me do as much as 12.6 kph (it was really blowing--fortunately the lake is shallow, so the waves were not too bad).
The lake is probably about 8 or 9km around so it's a two-hour paddle if you do the whole thing. If you wanted a shorter paddle, down the east side and into the small bay is interesting. The southern end is also okay. The north end of the lake is the least interesting and is the part to skip.
Saturday, June 14, 2025
Elizabeth Lake
In late April, I stopped in Lacombe to try and get on Elizabeth Lake. I'd previously paddled nearby Barnett Lake and Elizabeth was similar. Access is DIY and I've flagged four options below, none of which are very good.
A challenge everywhere is that (1) the lake is shallow and you have to pole or bum-scoot through the shallows to get out where you actually float compounded by (2) the lake level has risen and killed trees at the edge, meaning you also need to navigate submerged stumps while bum-scooting. This is not for the faint hearted and likely isn't a good option for inflatables because of the sharp sticks.
I accessed the lake from the bottom (blue arrow) off the Elizabeth Lake Trail. You can park on Woodland Drive by the Canada Post box (30 meters west of the trail head), carry across the road at he cross walk and then hang a left down the paved trail, which quickly becomes dirt.
You can get the same vibe at Barnett Lake about half a km west with an easier entry. Or you can drive maybe 12km south and have a nicer paddle at Lacombe Lake. I probably won't go back here.
Saturday, June 7, 2025
Muir Lake
As usual, Muir Lake was the first local lake open, this year in mid-April. Likely that reflects the winter aeration and the consequently thinner ice.
The only animals of note were a pair of camera-shy loons and a bunch of angsty geese.
It looks like North lake and Little Mere as well as Chickakoo were also open.
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