Mayatan Lake

I had a chance to paddle Mayatan Lake in late June. The lake is located SW of Stony Plain. Getting there is a touch tricky. 

I came off Highway 16, turned south on Highway 770 (the Carvel Turn), then west on Township Road 524 (turning at Mink Lake), then north at Range Road 25 (Star Lake), then west on Township Road 524A, then south on Range Road 30 into Mayatan Lake Estates. Setting your GPS to Mayatan Estates is probably the easiest option.

Once you are into Mayatan Estates, the boat launch is not marked and easy to miss (see green arrow above). There is a turnabout right at the edge of the lake with parking about 20 metres from the launch. The launch is gravel but easy to use and it was a clean entry.

The lake itself was very clear and you can see down at least 10 feet. There is a slight septic smell just south of the launch (probably leaking from a cabin) but the rest of the lake was fine.

The two halves of the lake are connected with a narrow (7 feet?) channel that is also very hallow. Lots of birds in here and a fun paddle.

The lake shore is almost 100% reeds (except on the south shore of the east half where there is some sort of private camp underneath the power transmission lines. It looks like people swim in the lake (there are deeper portions). Lots of interesting bays to explore. The shoreline is maybe 6 or 7 km around and took me under 2 hours at a stately pace.

I saw a fair bit of wildlife (e.g., angry loons, terns fishing, terns being chased by red-winged black birds) and some beaver. The clear water shows how the beavers have dug deeper channels so they can get out of the lodges after the lake freezes.

Overall, this was a nice paddle. I was there early to beat the heat and the lake was empty. Nearby Star Lake was pretty busy with people fishing at the same time.