Sturgeon River in Flood

June was incredibly wet in Edmonton (breaking records) and, as a result, there is lots of water. The Sturgeon River through St Albert rose above its banks in places and, in late June, I took a quick paddle from the Riel Park boat launch to the Mission boat launch and back.

It was a shorter carry than usual from the parking lot because the river had come up about four or five feet.

Probably the most fun part was paddling along what is normally the bike path. In the photo above, the paved path is about three feet below the surface of the water.

It was also possible to paddle right up to the ball diamonds by the railway trestle.

Much of the park at the Mission bridge was also under water.

The Mission boat launch was serviceable, really for the first time in years!

Overall, a fairly fun paddle on a section of river that I have kind of paddled out,

Clear Lake and Romeo Lake, west of Barrhead

Back in mid-June, I visited Clear Lake, located about 20 minutes NW of Barrhead. Access is through Clear Lake Park. The park has a beach, boat launch, swimming area and dock, playground, pit toilets, fire pits, and picnic tables. You can camp there and you can park within 20m of the water (slight downhill slope). You can see my truck in the photo below to get an idea of entry.

The water was, as advertised, clear and the bottom was a silty sand. I had to wade out a few feet to get enough depth to float.

The other entry is the boat launch (on your left as you drive in).

Clear Lake has a very alpine vibe, like Obed or McLeod lakes with a periodically reedy or bullrush edge giving way to muskeg or mixed forest behind. It was cloudy the day I was there and the photos don't really do the lake justice. 

There were lots of beaver lodges.

This one was huge!

Below is a pretty typical shot of wbat you get in the edge. The lake is about 1.8km long (running east-west) and maybe 400m wide. I'd say the perimeter is maybe 5km and it took me about 80 minutes to do the edge. I would have paddled it a second time in the other direction if the weather had been better.

There were some nice water flowers.

The birdwatching was very good. Below, an osprey getting chased by a red-winged black bird.

There were two loons, pelicans, and lots of ducks.

Over in the east end (which is swampier) was this dock that appears to have drifted off on someone.

Beside it was this bent paddle and the bow of a sunken kayak. Maybe they got caught over winter?

Overall, a nice lake. The drive was longish from Edmonton (about an hour and 40 minutes). If you wanted a twofer, Thunder Lake is immediately south.

Romeo Lake

On the way back, I stopped in to scout access to Romeo Lake. There is a public boat launch at the Peavine Romeo Lake Hall on the north end of the lake. It is the usual gravel/grass road, down a hill.

Eventually you get out onto the flats. There is room to drop your boat and turn around. Parking is back up at the hall.

There is a cement ramp but you could also get in on the gravel on either side. The water looks good in mid-June but there were already extensive lily beds growing near the shore.

The lake itself is very much a prairie lake, with few trees on the edge and cultivated fields or ranch land all the way around it. It is about 3km long (north-south) and 1 km wide. 

The lake didn't look super interesting to me but there might be good bird watching along the reedy shoreline.

Round Lake, near Evansburg plus Lake Isle northwest launches

In late May, I finally managed to get out to Round Lake, which is located about an hour west of Edmonton on Highway 16, just north of Magnolia. Access is from the north, down Range Road 70 

You can park about 10m from the edge of the lake and unload. Access to the lake requires navigating some bullrushes. I was able to get in and out dry. The challenge for my visit was the channel was blocked at the end by some kind of home-made raft.

I was able to bull past this with some work.

Reverse shot of the launch and parking.

The shoreline is basically reeds with a mixed forest behind it. There is no easy place to get out around the perimeter of the lake. 

There were a tonne of birds on the lake and on the shoreline.

The sunshine was also amazing the day I was there.

In the west end, there is a small creek you can paddle up. This actually looks more like a canal (when you look at the satellite photo).

The navigable part seems to end at a small bridge in the middle of this person's farm.

Beyond the birds and fresh air, Round Lake is pretty unremarkable. I suspect it would be buggy in the summer and the water likely gets a bit green (it was dark, iced tea coloured the day I was there).

Overall, an interesting enough early season paddle with good birding. It took me just over an hour to go around the perimeter (so maybe 5km with the side trip up the creek) Probably not suitable for SUP and not interesting enough that I would go back.

Lake Isle, Northern Shore
Since I had some time, I decided to come back to Edmonton along the north shore of Lake Isle and check out some of the launches I have not yet been to.

There is a small boat launch by the Lutheran summer camp (orange arrow). It offers a cement ramp, a floating dock, a picnic tables, and garbage cans. There is parking just at the top of the ramp in the photo below).

A little further east, there is a launch at Jones Beach (green arrow). This offers similar amenities as well as a pit toilet. The parking situation was a little less clear here.

I haven't explored the far west west end of Isle Lake so I will try to get back here this summer.

East Pit Lake

In mid-October, we hauled the boats out to East Pit Lake for a late-season paddle. This is not my wife's favourite lake because of the long carry (350m or more) plus it has 30m of elevation change.

Happily she sucked it up and, with enough rest stops, we made it down to the water without anyone getting injured. The trail, especially up out of the parking lot, seemed to be in better shape than I remember it being.

The big surprise was that the lake was two feet lower than it was the last time I was here (maybe autumn of 2024). This made launching easier but is very worrying.

We had a nice paddle down, taking the autumn colours. There was not much for wildlife beyond a few ducks and lots of beaver activity.

The views were, as always, very pretty. And being down below the surrounding land meant there was very little wind.

About a 45 minute paddle around, going slowly and talking. I would think you could do two laps in an hour pretty easily with constant paddling.

The hike back up was also not too bad. This is one of the few long carries where going in solo with a boat on my head is actually easier than lugging two boats with a second person.