Devil's Lake

In mid-July, we tried to beat the heat with an early morning paddle at Devil's Lake (also called Matchayaw Lake). The water was looking good despite the heat wave and the launch with pit toilets and garbage cans) was quiet and in good shape.

There was  bit of high altitude smoke that gave the light a weird cast.

The lake was glassy calm for our whole paddle.

There were lots of pelicans on the lake plus the usual waterfowl.

I was keen to try to get up the inflow of the Sturgeon but the weeds, water levels, and some debris meant that was a bust.

I fidget pretty close to some pelicans, though.

We decided to try the Sturgeon River outflow, despite the weeds in the NW end of the lake.

We made it about a kilometre past the bridge before paddling in heavy weeds became tedious and we turned around.

I did get into Kilimi creek but that dead-ended in a big beaver dam so we decided to just finish the circuit of the southern shore and head back. There were the first signs of an algae bloom along the western shore of the lake (particles in the water).

The other boat launch (in Bilby) looked servicable.

A pretty nice paddle. It was +26 when we got off at 10:30. What a heat wave!

Nakamun Lake

In mid-July, I drove up to Nakamun Lake, hoping the water was still good. The last time I was here (2020?), there was an algae bloom underway. Happy, the water looked okay. The easiest access is on the south shore from the park in the middle of the Summer Village of Nakamun Park.

There is good parking here and benches to sit on but no washrooms. You can drive your boat to the end of the spit where the launch is. There wasn't really a viable beach launch here.

The launch has a metal grate for a deck. I've never seen one like this before. The grate in the water was very slippy. Getting in was okay. I used one of the guide rails on the side for balance getting out. The south shore is built up and basically is this, with a lot of weeds close to shore.

I went west off the launch. In the west end, there is a treed island with lots of birds.

You can skirt around the western side of the island, but the channel is shallow, narrow, and weedy.

The western and north shores mostly look like this: weed bed, thin set of bullrushes, then a steep bank up into an aspen forest.

On the north shore of Camp Nakamun.

In the eastern end, there is a cute little island with a beaver lodge and lots of nettle. Then a swampier portion leading to a creek.

The wind came up while I was in the eastern end and I had a long grind back to the dock. The other place you could get you boat in on the south side is at the end of Range Road 23. Parking is on the side of the road. It is a short carry but about a two-foot drop into a rocky bottom. 

The permitter of Nakamum is about 10km and took me about 2 hours. It was a nice enough lake but maybe a bit boring. There is some gravel involved in getting there (if that matters to you). I think Devil's Lake is actually a more interesting paddle and about 20 minutes closer to town.

Spruce Coulee Reservoir

In July, we paddled the Spruce Coulee Reservoir in the Cypress Hills Intraprovincial Park just southeast of Medicine Hat. Access requires a short trip (4km?) down a sandy gravel road, including a bit of a twisting downhill section. Not much worse than a bad alley in Edmonton, but something to be mindful of if you are a nervous driver.

You can drop your boat right beside the sandy/silt launch, which includes a dock, pit toilets, tent camping, and a "comfort" cabin you can rent if you like. Super easy launch with nearby parking. There were also two aluminum canoes here on a rack that you can rent for the day from the shack on Elkwater Lake (I think it was $40 for the day).

This was my favourite paddle in the Cypress Hills. The lake has a very alpine vibe and was small, had a slight curve, and no real wind. There was also really no one else around.

We went south down the lake to the swamp at the south end. Lots of shore birds and waterfowl. The water is super clear and the bottom was interesting. No bugs on the lake but you could see lots in the bush!

We then turned up the short reach to the east and paddle around, rescuing dragon flies and poking into the small hidden bays behind the reeds.

Then we came back up the lake into a very slight breeze.

The dam is right beside the boat launch.

Overall, a super low-key paddle suitable for families and beginners. There was lots of nature to see. Definitely my favourite paddle in the park and maybe one of the top paddles this summer (so far).

Reesor Lake

In early July, we were at the Reesor Lake reservoir in the Cypress Hills Intraprovincial Park, just southeast of Medicine Hat. it is an interesting drive into the area; watch out for cows on the road! It looks like you could get into the lake at either end with a bit of work but the easiest access was at the day-use area about halfway down the lake.

Lots of parking, a proper boat launch, and sandy bit beside it for beach(ish) launch. There are also pit toilets, benches, and the whole area (including the fishing platform) has received an upgrade since I was last here in 2019 (I think). There was a canoe rack here and it looks like you can rent canoes from the shack at Elkwater Lake (but there were no canoes in the rack or on the lake).

We waited out rain and crazy fog and then went in a mild breeze, grinding northwest into the wind and then being pushed back to the other end.

The north shore is mostly scrub with lots of lovely wild flowers. Lots of shorebirds here.

The moister south shore of the lake is wooded with pines. Below you there are grebes, pelicans, and a lone eagle in the pine tree.

The morning fog had visibility down to 50 feet at one point. The eagle was trying to dry its feathers out in the breeze after the fog lifted.

We sailed back down the lake to the dam at the southeast end. This was much more alpine than Elkwater Lake. There is a decent-sized campground at this end of the lake.

Then we paddled back. Maybe an hour round trip?

Overall, a nice enough paddle with clean water and only a few others kayaks on the lake. Great bird watching and a bit of a shame the weather was not great (second time I've tried for a sunny day here).

Elkwater Lake

In early July, we had the chance to paddle Elkwater Lake in the Cypress Hills Intraprovincial Park (just southeast of Medicine Hat). Elkwater is approximately the same elevation as Banff and gets some pretty varied weather. Our paddle started out rainy and foggy and then turned lovely. Overall, Elkwater is a morning or evening paddle because of the afternoon winds and boats.

There are multiple boat and beach launches from the south shore of the lake. We went off the main beach (just east of the marina). The carry from the parking lot was about 100 feet and there is also a place to rent kayaks, canoes, and paddle boards here. There are nice washrooms and changing rooms here as well as picnic tables and fire pits and, of course, a lovely beach with a roped swimming area.

The east end of the lake is swampy reeds so we went across to the north shore while we waited for the sun, trying to get into the northern reach. The shoreline was steep and grassy, with a sandy bottom pretty much everywhere. There were no boats out due to the weather.

We pushed through a shallow reed bed and into the northern part of the lake as the sun came out. there were lots of birds here as well as a muskrat but not much else of interest. There were no boats here, perhaps because of the shallow depth.

We worked out way counter clockwise around the lake as the sun came out. This deer paralleled us up on the bluffs. The shore line is a mix of sandy cliffs (with swallows) and grassy hills coming down to the shore (lots of yellow-headed blackbirds).

The western end of the lake is basically this.

The south shore is treed and much more alpine. This distribution of trees reflects the availability of water on north-facing slopes.

We saw a hawk come low overhead screaming and, right behind it, was a bald eagle, talons extended. They circled for awhile. We also saw a grebe fishing and feeding its young what looked like a small perch. By this time, the water skiers were out and we decided to call it a day and head back for lunch.

Overall, Elkwater is a pretty clean lake. The perimeter is like just over 10km and there is a fair bit to see. The downsides are the wind and the boat traffic, especially in the middle the day.