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.

The closest access is at the very bottom corner of the lake (above). This was very shallow and stumpy. I followed the trailed another 30 meters (up a rise and then down to the lake again), carefully walked over the hidden logs in the grass, and got in here.

This still sucked and I had to pole out a fair way. Getting back out here also required some acrobatics. 

 

Below is basically what you get: shallow, murky lake with grass, trees and a band of dead trees right at or in the water. It is prettier in the summer with leaves. 

There were a fair number of birds and some muskrat and beaver. The lake is about 4km around and took about an hour.

You might also be able to get in on the east side (pink arrow) down a path. Again not great entry (did not get a photo) but a nice lady I talked to suggested there may be a dock here in the summer. No idea if that was true every year.

At the north end (green arrow), you could probably get in pretty easily between these trees (above). The issue is the long carry across playing field and the stupidly steep hill (you can see the school atop in behind the trees).

Finally, there is a road that abuts the lake (red arrow). You can see the sign for the end of the road in picture below and there are a couple of places you could set a boat into the lake and step down into it. The parking situation here is unclear (gravel road--are the ditches public property? who knows) and the neighbourhood gives off a bit of an uptight vibe.

All told, this was a meh lake and a hassle to get into. 

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.