Hubbles Lake

In mid-August, we took a quick week-day trip out to Hubbles Lake for a paddle. We went in through the crown land on the north shore (directions here). Update: I've been inform this is a Parkland County nature preserve. This access involves (according to Strava) about a 400m carry with a descent of 15m (there are actually two drops and one climb on the way in). Spirits were high in the picture below, despite finding bear scat in the parking area.

This is the long drop to the lake. The trail turns to the left as it enters the trees and keeps descending. The trail and the footing was better than when I was here last fall.

The entry is so-so. The dock is dilapidated but sturdy. We decided to go in to the left of it and bum scoot through the mud. There was some lake goo here (just late season slime, not blue-green algae).

There was a lot of bum scooting and the mud smelled bad but eventually we got out into the lovely clean lake.

A reverse shot of the entry.

We went left (east) off the launch and paddled towards the Allen Beach Resort. There was no one on the water at 10 am on a Tuesday and no one on the shore either. The water was like glass.

A bit of high cloud looking towards the resort. There is a fellow in a golf cart on the beach!.

The sun kind of came out as we went east. The lake is maybe 1.2km long and about 200m wide and you could do two laps in an hour or so.

The west end of the lake had a fair number of birds and we stopped to float and share a chocolate croissant, like I imagine the voyageurs would have done 150 years ago.

We finally saw some other paddlers.

I had a chance to rescue a bee!

Getting out was basically the reverse of getting in, with some bum scooting and light cursing. The picture below is the first half of the hill before it turns to the right and keeps climbing. It is fairly steep and would be better with a cart than carrying.

The hill finally conquered with only a small amount of gasping. Not sure this if this was easier to harder than doing it with one boat on my head last fall.

And back to the parking spot and loaded. All told, maybe a ten-minute carry from the water to the car? Room for two or maybe three vehicles here.

Overall, a fun paddle on an empty lake with clean water close to town. I see why this lake is so popular.

Hubbles Lake, North Shore Entry

In mid-October, I went to Hubbles Lake to find the public access through crown land (thanks to Bevin for the tip). The easiest access is on the east end through the Allen Beach Resort, but they charge a day-use fee, are only open in the high season, and sometimes restrict access.

While there is a public access point on the NE shore, there is no parking on the roadway within walking distance. You can get in about half way down the lake (green arrow above, enter 17 Lakeview Avenue, Carvel, AB into your nav). You might snag one of the two parking spots. You may also be able to park on the side of the road, although whether this is permissible under the Parkland County traffic bylaws is hard to fathom.

The lake requires a 400m carry (blue arrow) along some ATV paths. It isn't a long carry but there are some challenges. There is a small valley and ridge right away.

Then at the top, you hand a left at the intersection and look for the long, steep slope down to the lake. The picture below shows the first half of the descent, looking south towards the lake. Then the path turns east.

The picture below shows the second half of the descent looking north (from the bottom). It is steep and rutted, there are rocks and roots, and also slippery leaves. You'll want to wear good shoes.

At the bottom, there is a little dock (green arrow) that had been pulled for the season in the photo below. Entry was so-so.

The lake was nice. Small, mostly pretty clean, and empty on a Wednesday evening in October.

I did two laps in an hour and a bit and there was some lovely colour.

The Allen Beach resort is shown below.

The sun started to drop towards the cloud bank so I called it and headed back.

The climb back up with the boat on my head was tough. I made it in one go but was huffing a bit and my back was a touch sore the next day. Mostly the footing was just tricky and, of course, my arms were busy with the boat. This would likely be less challenging with two people carrying two boats.

Hubbles Lake

Hubbles Lake is a small spring-fed lake about 25 minutes west of Edmonton. The water quality is good and a paddle around the edge is maybe 3km or so. To get to the lake, take Highway 16 west past Stony Plain. Then turn south on Range Road 13 and go about 3km. There is a gate on the west side of the road. 

The easiest public access is through the Allan Beach Resort and there is a charge (we paid $12 per adult). Best to check operating hours (when we went, they opened at 10 and restricted the number of visitors). You can drive down to the lake to load and unload but you need to return to the top to park (four-minute walk?).

There is a beach and a sandy boat launch. The beach gets quite busy during the day. There are also port-a-potties and they were renting paddle boards for $25 an hour.

The shoreline is highly developed so you are basically paddling past people's cabins and an RV resort. 

We saw lots of ducks and grebes towards the west end (where it is a bit swampier).

Overall, a lovely short paddle on a clean lake. If you were inclined, you could make a day of it on the beach. 

While this is a fair bit like Moonlight Bay on Wabamun, there were many fewer boats and the bottom of the lake was sandier and the water was cleaner. 

This is probably good family lake or one to learn on. It was a bit small and over developed for my taste.

Update: In August of 2024, I took a drive around the lake and found two public accesses. The north access is along Allan Drive (about 300m after you turn in from Range Road 13). There is a sign that marks the access point (a shot trail down to the water).

The difficulty with this access is that there is no parking anywhere along the road. You might be able to stash your car back by the mailboxes as you turned off Range Road 13. There is a similar sign (and a longer carry) on the southwest shore off of Diamond Drive along with a similar parking problem.