Thunder Lake

In late July, we took the dog up to Thunder Lake by Barrhead to have another go on the paddle board. Thunder Lake is a bit of a drive (90 minutes). We figured the provincial park would be quiet on a Sunday afternoon and give us some space to get the dog used to the water.

There is a dock here, but it is too high to be an effective launch site. Most people just go off the beach by the parking lot.

There was a kayak-o-mat here this year, which was nice to see.

The dog was excited to try the boat again, mostly because it means treats.

The paddle went okay, with only three unscheduled swims. The handle on the top of the life jacket is super useful for hauling him back onto the paddle board.

It was quite smokey and overcast the day we were there and the beach was empty under a moody sky. 

The dog lasted about 30 minutes on the board before before he started to get antsy. At 75 pounds, it isn't great when he started moving around a lot and erratically.

My wife had a good time. The dog and I seem to have matching wtf faces going at this point.

Shortly after this, he jumped off the board, swam to the beach and that was that. My wife walked him back to the car along the shore.

I towed the paddle board back. Not the best trip of the summer but alright, I guess. Thunder Lake is usually a very nice paddle on a sunny day (sans dog).

I'm not sure how many more attempts I have in me to make the dog like paddling! He may be a land lubber at heart.

Alberta Watercraft Inspections, 2025

Boat inspection and hot water wash in
Prince Albert National Park this past summer.

Alberta has long inspected water-craft to prevent the spread of Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS). While there are several AIS (there is a comprehensive pocket-guide here), water-craft inspections are particularly focused on preventing the introduction of quagga and zebra mussels to Alberta.

In June of 2025, all boats crossing Alberta’s southern and eastern borders required inspection (even if the nearest inspection station was closed). Boats crossing the northern of western borders only required inspections if passing an open inspection station. The inspection process is set out here.

This new requirement (along with a $4200 fine for failing to stop at an open station, up from $324 in 2023) caused some raised eyebrows in the paddling community. I thought some context might be of interest to paddlers so I pulled together the publicly available data. 

 

The short of it is, in 2025:

 

·      21,995 watercraft were inspected at 11 stations

·      46.5% (so about 10,230) of inspected boats were non-motorized 

·      13 mussel-fouled boats were identified (1 sailboat and 12 motorized)

·      875 boats were hot-water washed due to concerns about possible contamination

·      358 warnings and 14 fines for failing to stop at an inspection station were issued

 

The table below presents the comparative data I found find from 2019 to 2025.

Generally speaking, non-motorized boats have a lower risk of mussel fouling because (1) there are fewer places for mussels to hide and (2) non-motorized boats are not typically left in the water long enough for a colony to become established. 

 

Of the 171 mussel-fouled boats identified between 2017 and 2025, only one (0.58%) was a kayak. That said, the sheer number of non-motorized boats crossing the border each year does represent a significant risk since a single female mussel can produce 1 million eggs in a year. 

Wapasu Lake and Akasu Lake

Wapasu Lake

In mid July, I visited Wapasu Lake about 90 minutes east of Edmonton on Highway 16. There is good access through the Wapasu Lake Park, operated by the County of Minburn.

The park is very nice, with picnic tables, a playground, pit toilets (with electric lights!), a ball diamond and playing field. The images online also suggested a sandy beach and easy access.

There was definitely a sandy beach, but the water level has dropped about 12 inches in the past two years, leaving a grassy stretch about 50 feet wide before you get to the water.

The edge is icky and slippery but the water is clear (I read it is a spring fed lake), the bottom is hard-packed sand, and the slope is very shallow. I walked out another 50 feet before there was enough depth to get in.

To paddle without hitting the bottom, I stayed about 75 feet off shore. At 100 feet out, it was only 3 feet deep in most places. I paddled about 40 minutes around the edge (so maybe 3km). The north and west shore have a bit of scrub with fields in behind.

The south and east shores have more trees, some private cabins and the land rises behind it.

Paddling back, I ground out this far from shore.

The water was clear but there was some bottom algae. There was only one motorized boat on the shore (a jet ski) and no boat launch likely this is mostly paddle and wind powered craft.

Overall, this was a bit of a disappointing paddling but might be good for paddleboarding. Nearby (maybe 5km to the east) is Birch Lake, which offers an island to explore and a much larger body of water.

Akasu Lake

I didn't have enough time to hit a second lake on this trip but I did have time to do some scouting. I've looked at Akasu Lake (just north of Lavoy) a couple of times on google maps. The lake is about 4km long and 2km at it widest.

There looked to be public access on the south side where Range Road 133 basically runs to the edge of the lake on the north side of Akasu Hill (the highest point between Edmonton and Winnipeg). The water level when I got there was a bit lower than the map above so there is something of a bay that curved out on either side of road in the image above.

It's an alkali lake so you get the salt rim that looks like snow. I'm parked at the end of the road on county land. Immediately beyond my truck is this mess of algae over top of gently-sloping sand. Doable but likely yucky. Probably better earlier in the year when the water would be higher and there would be less algae.

 

I did see that the salt pan ran to the left (west) and arced around to a point where the water was closer so I walked the coupe of hundred feet over that way. The ground was firm and there were quad tracks here.

When I got the end, there was better access, with only a few feet of algae over a sandy bottom before open water. The ground felt firm to me but who knows once you get out from the shoreline. I should have brought my paddle to probe a bit. The water beyond the algae was clear.

Below is a reverse shot back towards my truck. Not super helpful. The lack of elevation causes foreshortening, but I thought the sun looked cool, though!

The upshot is that access is doable. I expect this lake is better in the spring and might also be interesting in the fall when birds start to migrate back. I'd be happy to hear of anyone's experiences on it. 

Helliwell Lake

In early July, I headed up Highway 2 towards Athabasca to try Helliwell Lake. The lake is 4 miles long (maybe 7km) and is in three basins, straddling two range roads. I've seen this lake from Highway 2 on many trips to Athabasca and decided to paddle the eastern and centre basin (almost 11km return).

The best access I could figure was off Range Road 250. I parked on the south side of the lake (just below the pink arrow and made my way in to the eastern basin at the green arrow. You could probably get in elsewhere along the road (I did walk it all on both sides)--this just looked the easiest given the weeds (lots of nettle!).

I beat a path down the bank (below, green arrow) and then slide the boat down. It was reasonably steep. Then I stepped in and bum-scooted the launch.

There is a bridge on RR250 but it is not possible to pass under, both because of the cross beams and the beaver dam.

The picture below is basically what you get in the eastern basin. Lots of bullrushes, some aspen/fir forest and a few cabins. The very hopeful "lakefront property" signs put up by real estate agents on the roads nearby made me laugh. Yes, it is a lake, but really is is a sloe.

The water was full of blue-green algae when I was there. Not too smelly but definitely not for swimming. There were lots of ducks, loons, cormorants, and fish jumping.

At the far eastern edge (blue arrow), you could get in off Highway 2 (below) if you could get your car off the road and into the ditch (note how close the highway is to the lake!). RR250 was likely a better option, I think.

I fished this bird (I think a female red-winged blackbird) out of the water. She was still alive (despite the picture!), just exhausted. She warmed up as I paddled back west and I set her ashore on some sunny grass to recuperate (or not). Getting out, I almost brained a muskrat with my kayak, startling us both!

I carried the kayak across the road to the centre section at the pink arrow. This was a bit more of an adventure, with more nettle, worse footing and a sharp turn at the bottom.

The centre section is two miles long and is mostly this:

At the far western end, it gets more agricultural:

The most interesting part were about 60 pelicans sitting on an old beaver lodge.

At the western edge, you hit Range Road 252. I think you could get out here. I wasn't keen on trying the western basin and I was getting hot, so I turned around and headed back.

All told, an interesting paddle with lots of birds. I can't imagine going back, though. My boat needed a pretty thorough washing when I got home.

Bowness Lagoon, Calgary

In late June, I was in Calgary and spent a couple of hours on the water in the Bowness Lagoon with a friend. Access is in front of the restaurant, on the right as you enter the park. We carried from the parking lot (maybe 40m) but you can drop your boats about 15m away and go park.

The cement launch is pretty handy. Other folks, especially using SUPs, just launched from shore. The water was murky (usually is clear in the summer but the river was quite silty) and there are no swimming/wading signs.

The lagoon is pretty small. We did a quick lap, noting that the water was very high (likely because the nearby Bow River was also high).

There are boat rentals here and a nice little canal to paddle through. There were lots of ducks and geese.

The more interesting part of the paddle is up the creek that brings water in from the river. To access it, go under the car bridge that brought you into the park and head west.

The creek isn't always super passable and the rental folks ask you not to take their boats up the creek. We had no problems with the high water, Last year, we did have to carry over one low section.

There were a few downed trees to duck under or otherwise navigate around.

It is just over a kilometre to the far end, just underneath Stoney Trail. While the water does flow in here, there is no access to the river (although you could likely portage to it).

We then had a nice float back. It was a Tuesday night and there were a small number of SUPs on the water (mostly people just floating and talking).

Overall, a reasonable beginner paddle that is doable even on a windy day when the reservoir is rolling.