Kelley's Bathtub, Jarvis Lake, William Switzer Provincial Park

In early August, we stopped at Kelley's Bathtub, a day-use area on Jarvis Lake in William Switzer Provincial Park. Jarvis Lake is shaped like a J, with the main access on the south end (i.e., the bottom of the J). Kelley's Bathtub offers both a sheltered paddling spot and easy access to the north end of the lake (the top of the J). Our plan was to paddle across the small, enclosed bay and then lift the boats over into the main lake.

Unfortunately, it was raining like hell when we arrived so we settled for a walk around the bathtub on the trail. The main parking lot offers pit toilets and picnic tables. The visitor centre is also in the parking lot. It is about a 30-meter carry from the parking lot to the water but there is a significant slope.

The shot above looks back at the access point and gives you a sense of the drop and the narrow beach area.  The water was clean and this would be a good place to paddle board.

To access Jarvis Lake, you need to paddle across the bathtub, get out of your boat by the bridge (in the picture above), lift over the walk, and get back in. You cannot get under the bridge. The north end of Jarvis was lovely and is sheltered from both west and north winds (sometimes an issue).

You probably want to lift over the board walk on the south end (on the left as you paddle towards it), just in front of where my wife is standing. The bottom there on both sides is pretty good. The bottom on the far side of the bridge had submerged logs and looked way harder.

I'd definitely go back and give this a go the next time where through here.

Victor Lake and Grande Cache Lake

In early August, we took a quick trip that included a night in Grande Cache. We ran into some bad weather which turned a hoped-for paddle on Victor Lake into a quick scouting report.

Victor Lake

Victor Lake is located about 2km southeast of Grande Cache on Highway 40. The lake serves as the town's reservoir and there are no gasoline-powered engines allowed on the lake. There are a couple of access points.

There is a day-use area (blue arrow) that I took a snap of below. This has a fire pit, some parking, and a fairly easy grass and gravel entry once you lift down a few feet to the lake. The water was clear and clean and there were lots of fish jumping. 

Maybe 10 meters further west (green arrow) was a boat launch (looked like gravel). Further down the road, you could get access to what appeared to be an old air strip and has other access points (orange arrow). 

Allen Creek flows into Victor Lake by the day-use area and is apparently navigable except there is one point you have to portage around (according to the fellow we spoke with). The west end of the lake looks super interesting. This lake is definitely on my list of places to go back to.

Grande Cache Lake

Just a few kilometres further east on Highway 40 is Grande Cache Lake. It had about twice the foot print of Victor Lake and is prone to getting rough if the wind comes up. The easiest access point is the municipal park just off Highway 40 about half way down the lake.

The park has pit toilets, picnic tables, a playground, a boat launch, floating dock, and a gravel-dirt beach with clean water. The dock was crowded with people fishing the morning we were there.

Access to Allen Creek is about 1km west from the beach. This would probably be my second choice for paddling because of how open it is to the wind.