First Chain Lake (Ponoka)

In late August, we found ourselves in Red Deer. After a night in a motel on the dodgy side of Gasoline Alley (every hotel in town was, somehow, full???), we headed for home and stopped at the First Chain Lake, just east of Ponoka on our way. Access is on the east side of the lake, coming down Range Road 250 from the north, take the right fork down to the water.

The launch is sand, with space to park. There are no facilities here. I don't normally flag road conditions (since they change) but, like the Second Chain Lake, this entry might not be for everyone. Below you can see the launch from the water and, on the right, the road down to the launch.

It is fairly steep and the sandy soil can erode. I didn't have any trouble getting down (or back up) in our Escape (I just went slowly). If it was super wet, the tire tracks suggest some floorin' it might be required.

The lake runs north-south. It is about 2.5 or 3km long and maybe 100m wide. The shore is reeds giving way to steep wooded slopes.

Overall, the lake has a pretty alpine feel to it and offers good wind protection from the east or west. Google maps suggested the lake might be pinched by a swamp about half way up but that turned out to be a loose set of lily pads that were easy to navigate.

We did the whole lake in about an hour without really breaking a sweat. There was no one on the lake at 9 am on a Saturday.

Overall, this a nice prairie lake. The water was very murky (like slightly diluted motor oil) and there were lots of bugs in the water, so might not be the best for paddle boarding.