Narrow Lake

In mid-September, I took a birthday paddle on Narrow Lake, about two hours north of Edmonton on Highway 2. Narrow Lake sits in a shallow valley and runs roughly SW to NE. It's about 4km long and maybe 500m wide at its widest point.

The best (and, as far as I can tell, only) public access is through the Narrow Lake Campground on the east side of the lake, about halfway down the length of it.

The launch has a a day-use area with a pit toilet, picnic tables, and fire pits. There are also a small number of campsites here. The boat launch is sand-gravel with a dock. There is also a sandy beach launch available and the water is amazingly clear.

The northern end is the more interesting and sheltered part of this lake so I went right (north) off the launch, and crossed over to the west side to paddle in the chilly air in the sunshine.

The clarity of the water is astounding, even late in the year.

There were lots of geese overhead but only a few birds, including this loon with a chick.

The eastern shore of the north end has lots of submerged logs. On a calm day with good lighting, you can see some pretty cool sights. It was still shaded when I paddled back down so mostly I saw logs thrust up out of the water.

The northern end took me about an hour and I still had some time so I did the southern end too. This was pretty and all, just more open, slightly rougher, and with less to see.

In the SW corner is Camp Wright. There is also a beaver lodge and the opening to a creek that may (or may not) lead you south towards Long Lake (Forfar). I was running out of time (and gas!) so I didn't poke around here

The lake was down between 8 and 12 inches over normal. A lady I spoke with said the drop had been quite sudden (over a week). About the only thing that would account for that is a beaver dam breaking. I'm not sure if that is the case (perhaps the creek on the south drains into Long Lake?) or if, perhaps, she was mistaken.

Overall, a very nice boreal lake and, if you were keen, you could do Narrow Lake and Long Lake together as a long day. The best access to Long Lake for this two-for-one would be the small campground in the north end of Long Lake. I'd come her emir but the drive (two hours each way) is a bit daunting for a quick paddle.

Islet Lake

In early September, we decided to take advantage of a nice weekday and head out to Islet Lake. Access to the lake is about a 100m carry that begins on the gravel path behind the cooking shelter. In addition to the shelter there is lots of parking, picnic tables, fire rings, and pit toilets.

The path is straight forward but does have a steeper section right as you approach the lake.

Looking at the photos from last summer, the water level is down about a foot (maybe a touch more) so there is a much larger sand/gravel apron to launch from. There were more rocks we bumped over as we launched.

There was no wind so we went left (south) off the launch and paddled the eastern basin.

The sun came out and it was toasty warm.

There was more fall colour in the countryside than there is in town.

A few pelicans gave us a close pass. We then paddled down to the far northwestern end of the lake.

Along the way we saw some hawks and kingfishers. We also ran into this lone heron, fishing.

The north end gets pretty shallow and you can see (in the photo below) where my wife's paddling was staring up the bottom muck.

Eventually, it was lunch time and we headed back. Some Vees of geese flew over.

This shot gives you a sense of the water. A dark yellow-green. My white paddle disappeared from view about 3 inches down.

Overall, a fine enough paddle and I was happy not to have to fight the wind for once!

2025 Wrap-up

I still have a bunch of 2025 blog posts to come but this seems like the time to wrap up the 2025 paddle season. We got out 61 (or maybe 62) times last year and the season ran from April 10 to November 10 (likely could have gone a bit later, but I was tired).

We had some amazing trips and paddled 21 new-to-us lakes across Alberta, BC and Saskatchewan. I made a special effort to go east of Edmonton this year and try new places. Prince Albert National Park in Saskatchewan was again a winner of a trip (well worth the drive). A bit closer to home, we also had a great time in William Switzer Provincial Park, just north of Hinton.

I'm not sure what 2026 holds. I have a bunch of lakes (some new, some repeats) I'd like to try west and north of Edmonton. We're also talking about another trip to southeastern BC.

Clear Lake

In lake August, we were near Wainwright and put in at Clear Lake. Clear Lake is essentially a circle, about 1.5km across, set down below the surrounding prairie. It took us about hour and a bit to paddle the perimeter (so maybe 4km).

We accessed the lake from the boat launch on the north shore. It is a sand-gravel launch with a dock and a pit toilet. You can drop beside the water and then park about 20m away.

The water was very clear and clean.

Excepting the south shore, the shoreline is entirely built out with cabins. Every cabin pretty much had a big boat docked in front of it. It was a quiet and coolish day when were where there and the lake was not too busy. I expect it would be hopping on a warm weekend in the summer.

The southern end of the lake is a bit more natural-looking.

A couple of the cabins had their own funiculars to get up to the road behind them!

The fall colours were just starting to come out in places.

On the western shore, there is the Clear Lake Dive Site which offers another way to get onto the lake. There was parking, a short carry and a beach lunch. There was also a roped off swimming area.

Overall, a nice lake and an easy two-for-one with nearby Arm Lake.

Arm Lake Provincial Recreation Area and Shuster Lake

In late August, we had a chance to paddle Arm Lake and scout Shuster Lake, both just SE of Wainwright.

Arm Lake

Arm Lake is a small lake (maybe a 2km perimeter) with access through the Arm Lake Campsite. It was quite a cloudy morning when we were there and the photos don't really do justice to a very nice lake.

You can get in either at the boat launch or of the swimming beach. We chose the beach. It had change rooms, pit toilets (meh), nice sand, and a steel dock. It was maybe a 20m carry down a gentle sandy slope.

The water was super clear and swimmable. The lake is located down below the level of the surrounding land so it was also quite sheltered. It would be a good SUP option.

The shoreline is a mix of undeveloped forest and private cabins (moreso on the north and east shores). We went left (north) off the beach and paddled slowly around the lake.

The shoreline includes a fair bit of reeds and there were grebes and other waterfowl there.

In the SW corner, there is a second small, beach a the boat launch.

The launch was sand-gravel with a dock and a portapotty. It also looks like you can get into two smaller basins off the back side of the boat launch, although we didn't go explore this.

 

Overall, a lovely but very small lake, perfect for SUP or kids.

Shuster Lake

Just to the southwest of Arm Lake is Shuster Lake. This is a small, reedy lake, likely best for fishing. access is from the south side of the lake and requires a 2km drive off the pavement that starts as gravel, and then becomes sand, and then turns into a dirt track with some bumps and mud.

Not any kind of big deal (maybe it would be after a rain) but worth knowing if you are headed that way and don't like more adventurous driving.

The track eventually ends at the edge of the lake with a small area to turn around and a fire pit. There is a short canal that leads out into the lake.

This looked like a hard entry to a pretty so-so lake, we we decided to take a pass and head over to nearby Clear Lake.

I probably wouldn't bother to drive here again, especially given the proximity of Arm and Clear Lakes.