Jackfish Lake, Parkland County

In late May, we got out to Jackfish Lake, just west of Stony Plain, for a mid-week paddle. Jackfish is a nice, clean lake with good access on the eastern side at the county boat launch just off Highway 770. There is a dock, cement ramp, gravel beach, pit toilets, and a picnic table here. The drawback is that the county charges for access after 4:30 on weeknights and all day on weekends (it was $20 when I was there).

The other drawback is that, on occasion, I've had some unkind behaviour from big wake boats, especially around the launch area. We were fortunate to not have any issues this paddle and crossed to the island before turning south.

There is a lot of shoreline to explore and this trip we saw a stupid number of loons.  Some were on nests while others were just out cruising.

The shoreline is fairly built up but there are also still wild areas.

The water was super clean and I'd SUP here.

There are some small bays and inlets in the south end that are fun to explore. There were lots of geese in here.

We had pretty amazing weather, being both sunny and calm. I have had wetter paddles on Jackfish (it is big enough to get a good chop on a windy day). 

There were lots of other birds, including this pelican who we watched fish along the shore. 

Overall, a decent paddle a nice lake. I would avoid this one on a summer weekend as it is likely to be busy. The people we watched fishing were having a great day.