We took a trip out to Whitney Lakes Provincial Park this month. Whitney Lakes has four lakes in the Park (Laurier, Borden, Ross and Whitney) and is about three hours east of Edmonton. Basically east until just after Vermilion and then north for an hour. The roads were awesome with new pavement--an easy drive.
We had time to try two lakes and the online reviews suggested we look at Ross and Whitney Lakes. We started at Ross Lake (bottom right in map above). It has a provincial campground on the south side of the lake with very private camp sites and nice amenities, including large showers. On the west side of the campground, there is a boat launch with ample parking and an outhouse.
Since the lake was also rated as highly swimmable, we went looking for beaches and found two. The first (below) is north of the shower complex along a 300m trail. A bit of a haul for boats but a nice walk and a super secluded beach. We had a lovely swim here with a sandy bottom and shade (it was +30 by noon).
We then went to Whitney Lake (bottom left in map above). The entrance is not all that well signed. The campground is not great--big open space with no shade and no privacy. The beach is about 75 feet from the parking lot and is lovely.
It is a big beach with lots of room. There is easy beach launching, a shallow grade, and a marked swimming area. Just to the NE there is a boat launch. There were more motor boats on this lake (bigger than Ross Lake).
The swimming was also nice (+35C by the time we got here). Although nice, I'd rate Ross Lake nicer. The campground was way better, the lake was quieter and more interesting from a birding and paddling perspectives. And the water seemed a bit cleaner to me (although both were lovely).
I'd go back if only to try Laurier Lake (couldn't figure access to Borden Lake from the maps). The distance from Edmonton suggests camping is likely necessary (nearest big centres are St. Paul or Lloydminister if you wanted to hotel it).
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