Soldan Lake

In early May, we took a quick trip out to Soldan Lake, just north and slightly west of Stony Plain. Soldan is a pretty small lake (easily two laps in an hour) and is reasonably sheltered, making it a good option on a windy day or when the evenings are short.

The best access for hard-sided boats is on the SW corner of the lake just off Bridgewater Drive. It is just a short (10m) haul down a shallow slope and then you can slid in through the reeds. Parking is about 40m to the west (a small pull out that you will pass on your way in).

If you have an inflatable, you might be better off to park and walk up the ATV trail. It starts by the hood of my truck in the photo above and meanders maybe 40m to come out at the dock in the picture below (which you can also see in the distance in the very first photo). I didn't walk up this time but I recall the footing, especially by the dock, to be a bit uneven.

Once you are on the water, you can follow the shoreline around. It is mostly reeds with aspen in behind them. There are a few cabins but there is no other place to get out.

The lake is super quiet and too small for powered boats. There were a goodly number of birds here in May, including grebes, loons, ducks, geese, red-winged blackbirds, and a grackle.

The water was quite clear in early May and was probably okay for SUPs. There does not appear to be an inflow or outflow so it will likely get nastier as the summer goes on.

Oddly, we found two arrows hidden in the weeds by the public dock (one of the weirder finds over the years).

Wakomao Lake

In very early May, we drove up to Wakomao Lake, just east of Clyde. Access to the south end of the lake can be gained off Highway 18, about 20m to the west of the bridge and Whissell's Castle (you'll know it when you see it...). Parking is DIY. I parked on the south ditch and carried across the road; you can also drop down the steeper slope on the north ditch and park right beside the lake.

The entry is fairly obvious when you get there (follow the tire tracks towards the big bush). There is a nice enough grassy entry. In the past, I've been here with lower water and there is a lip of sand to launch from.

Whissell's Castle (below) is interesting to get a look at (built for bird watching) and you can duck under the highway and paddle down the creek. We went north up the east side of the lake.

Below is pretty representative of the shore. It is a mix of fields and trees, with a mix of reeds and grassy mud at the shoreline. There were a tonne of birds! No deer on this trip, though.

There are a number of islands. The largest island apparently has a camp and perhaps a hammock on it.

 

We paddled about three and a half kms up the lake and, as we were turning around, spotted two eagles and a nest on the east shore.

We then turned around and came back down the centre of the lake to take advantage of the wind.

God, it was hot!

As we approached the south shore, we saw a swam. It honked at us for awhile and then took off in front of us.

All told, a nice enough paddle. We did about 6km in 90 minutes. I suspect the lake is likely 10-12km if you did the whole thing. The water was pretty iced tea coloured easy in the season. This is not bad introductory spot if you want some easy experiencing DIYing parking and entry.

Mayatan Lake

In late April, we had our first hot day and so we headed out to Mayatan Lake. The lake was open and deserted. The launch was easy but there was a bit of slime at the entry (had to scrub it off of the boats when we got home) so we made sure to get in dry footed.

There were a lot of birds in the western basin, including loons and coots. There were no weeds this early and the water was quite murky still (usually clears up by summer).

Otherwise, the only thing of note is a new lodge just south of the passage from the western basin into the eastern. The beavers have really done a number on the trees in behind it.

The passage was open and navigable. There was six to eight includes of water all the way through.

The exception was at the very east end (picture below) where the bottom comes up (I suspected a buried log) and there was only 3 inches of water. We bum-scooted over this. I'm not sure what this means for later in the year if there is no rain and the lake level starts to drop.

Lots of birds in the eastern basin and the noise from the frogs was insane.

We had lunch floating in the eastern basin and then paddled back to the launch. 

Overall, this was a lovely morning. Bright sun, 20 degrees, and no bugs!

Lacombe Lake

In late April, I stopped at Lacombe Lake on the way back from Calgary. I use the public boat launch off Township Road 402 in the NE corner of the lake.

The launch was lovely (and empty) with a shallow gravel entry and pretty clean water. There are no bathroom facilities here (I would guess the closest would be in Lacombe or Blackfalds. It was a windy day (from the south) so I padded down the east side of the lake and into the small beaver pond.

Lots of birds here, including loons. No beavers on this trip but I did see a muskrat.

The TransCanada Trail runs down the east side of the lake.

I went back out into the main lake and worked my way to the south end of the lake.

The picture below gives you a pretty good sense of the overall experience. The shore is reeds that give way to aspen and fir forest. There are hills on the east side and a farm on the west side.

The wind really came up for the trip back. I usually paddle about 4 km an hour (very average). The trip back down the lake saw me do as much as 12.6 kph (it was really blowing--fortunately the lake is shallow, so the waves were not too bad).

The lake is probably about 8 or 9km around so it's a two-hour paddle if you do the whole thing. If you wanted a shorter paddle, down the east side and into the small bay is interesting. The southern end is also okay. The north end of the lake is the least interesting and is the part to skip.

Elizabeth Lake

In late April, I stopped in Lacombe to try and get on Elizabeth Lake. I'd previously paddled nearby Barnett Lake and Elizabeth was similar. Access is DIY and I've flagged four options below, none of which are very good. 

A challenge everywhere is that (1) the lake is shallow and you have to pole or bum-scoot through the shallows to get out where you actually float compounded by (2) the lake level has risen and killed trees at the edge, meaning you also need to navigate submerged stumps while bum-scooting. This is not for the faint hearted and likely isn't a good option for inflatables because of the sharp sticks. 

I accessed the lake from the bottom (blue arrow) off the Elizabeth Lake Trail. You can park on Woodland Drive by the Canada Post box (30 meters west of the trail head), carry across the road at he cross walk and then hang a left down the paved trail, which quickly becomes dirt.

The closest access is at the very bottom corner of the lake (above). This was very shallow and stumpy. I followed the trailed another 30 meters (up a rise and then down to the lake again), carefully walked over the hidden logs in the grass, and got in here.

This still sucked and I had to pole out a fair way. Getting back out here also required some acrobatics. 

 

Below is basically what you get: shallow, murky lake with grass, trees and a band of dead trees right at or in the water. It is prettier in the summer with leaves. 

There were a fair number of birds and some muskrat and beaver. The lake is about 4km around and took about an hour.

You might also be able to get in on the east side (pink arrow) down a path. Again not great entry (did not get a photo) but a nice lady I talked to suggested there may be a dock here in the summer. No idea if that was true every year.

At the north end (green arrow), you could probably get in pretty easily between these trees (above). The issue is the long carry across playing field and the stupidly steep hill (you can see the school atop in behind the trees).

Finally, there is a road that abuts the lake (red arrow). You can see the sign for the end of the road in picture below and there are a couple of places you could set a boat into the lake and step down into it. The parking situation here is unclear (gravel road--are the ditches public property? who knows) and the neighbourhood gives off a bit of an uptight vibe.

All told, this was a meh lake and a hassle to get into. 

You can get the same vibe at Barnett Lake about half a km west with an easier entry. Or you can drive maybe 12km south and have a nicer paddle at Lacombe Lake. I probably won't go back here.