Bonnie Lake and Cucumber Lake

In late August, we took a trip northeast of the city. Along the way, we paddled Bonnie Lake (near Vilna) and scouted Cucumber Lake (near Andrew).

Cucumber Lake

Cucumber Lake is a long lake running about 4.5km SW to NE. The width varies but averages about 300m. Access is off Highway 857, north of Willingdon.

I thought our best bet at access was on the western edge, where Township Road 570A cuts north across a small causeway to run along the north side of the lake. You might also be able to get in on the north side of the lake or the far east end (we didn't drive that far). Access on the south side looks like it would require cutting across someone's land.

Cucumber is basically a large sloe with a bullrush shoreline. The best spot I could find was on the causeway by the culvert (above). This would be a tricky entry because of the slope and an even trickier exit.

The lake was pretty green by late August so we decided to keep driving a look for a nicer paddle.

Bonnie Lake

Bonnie Lake is located NE of Vilna and the easiest access point is the Bonnie Lake Campground on the southwest end of the lake run by the town of Vilna. The lake runs about 6km east-west and is about 500m wide in most places.

The campground has a cement boat launch with a steel dock, pit toilets, picnic tables, a playground, and fire pits. The faculties are a mixed bag. The picnic tables and playground looked new. The picnic shelter and washrooms could stand an upgrade. The place was largely empty when we stopped in just ahead of the long weekend.

You can drop your boat right beside the water and go park maybe 50m away. The water was yellowy-brown when we got in (not unusual). As we paddled out, we could smell the onset of a blue-green algae bloom and see some clumps starting to form.

The picture below is a pretty representative shot of the lake. The shoreline is a mix of reed beds and rocky shore. Behind that is mixed forest.

We went left (west) off the launch and found about 40 pelicans hanging out with cormorants on this small island. They were unhappy to see us and took off, circling while they gained height.

At the end of the lake, we turned and paddled east to the island that is about halfway down the lake. While technically this is an island, the water on the northern edge was too shallow to paddle through so we skirted down the western edge.

At this point, it was about 32C and the smell of the algae bloom was getting to us so we turned back. No idea what the eastern end of the lake is like.

An alternative launch point may be the Bonnie Lake Resorts public beach, just east of the campground. We did not drive over to check this one out, I just snapped a picture from the water.

Overall, this was a so-so paddle. Absent the algae bloom, this might well be a nice lake, especially earlier in the year.