Horseshoe, Yellowhead, and Moose Lakes, Jasper

Last Thanksgiving, we headed to Jasper sans kayaks for a family vacation. The weather took a turn and we spent part of one day scouting out three lakes for 2026.

Horseshoe Lake

We've paddled Horseshoe Lake a bunch of times over the years but the 2024 burned through this area. The lake wasn't open when we were here in the spring of 2025. We were delighted to find it open and ready to go for next year.

The lake is located about 30km SE of Jasper, down the Icefield Parkway. It is shaped like a horseshoe and has about a 2.5km perimeter. There is a pit toilet in the parking lot and room for maybe 12 cars.

Access requires carrying down a steep slope from the parking area. The picture below is shot looking west towards the parking area. The two people in it give you a sense of the scale.

You have two main options for entry. The green arrow is probably the easiest. As you approach the bottom of the hill, hang left up the western edge of the western reach. This trek should be easier since the fire burned out a lot of the vegetation. You need to get far enough up the lake to get clear of the downed logs (picture below) in order to launch.

This takes you into the narrow chute (below) with great cliff photos and then into the rest of the lake. This is, honestly, all worth the effort because the lake is wonderful.

The other option is to trek to the orange arrow and work your way down the rocks to the lake. This is a bear of a trip with a hard-sided boat. It is easier with an inflatable. Again, the burn has cleared out a lot of the vegetation so this is an easier trip than in the past.

We'll have to wait until spring to see what the place looks like in better light and with the vegetation regrowing.

Yellowhead Lake

About 35km west of Jasper on Highway 16 is Yellowhead Lake. It runs approximately east-west for about 3.5km and is about 500m wide (though it pinches about half way down.

The best access option looks to be the Mount Fitzwilliam Trail parking lot on the north side of the highway. If you are coming from Jasper, you will pass a rest area and then there is one sign about 400m before you have have to make a sharp turn down into the parking area.

The parking area has lots of space and a pit toilet. You could carry down from here along a dirt trail (orange arrow above). The trail is pretty challenging.

But then you get to this lovely beach.

The better option is to drivey to the boat launch (green arrow), unload and then go park back at the orange arrow. The grave-sand launch is very nice and seems to have a bit of shelter from the west wind.

I am super keen to paddle here next summer.

Moose Lake

Another 25km west of Yellowhead Lake is Moose Lake. Moose Lake runs roughly NW to SE and is 12km long and up to 2km wide. There is a boat launch on the very east end.

The launch is a bit tricky to hit coming from the east. You get two chances to enter, about 30m apart, but both require a left across ongoing traffic and that can be hard if traffic is thick.

The launch itself has a small parking spot, a pit toilet and a cement ramp down into the water.

 

There is also a small gravel beach on the right side of the launch in the picture below.

The east end of the lake offers access to the Fraser River and is probably the most interesting part. 

Mostly, this lake looks too big for me and likely prone to some good waves in any kind of wind. 

Edna Lake

Every time I go to the mountains, I try to paddle at least one lake that is new to me. Last May, it was Edna Lake in Jasper. Edna is located on the south-eastern side of Highway 16, about halfway between the eastern park gate and the Jasper townsite. It is just a little southwest of Talbot Lake.

Access is DIY. We approached from the west and parked on the shoulder at the green arrow in the photo above. I'm not sure this kind of parking is permissible. The east-bound land is twinned here, the shoulder is wide, and there was a narrow gravel apron off the shoulder so we could get pretty clear of traffic without blocking anyone's sight lines. There was a drop from the road down to the ditch (four feet, moderate slope).

Then there was another two- or three-foot drop down to the water, which was a little swampy. There was a deeper channel (you can see in the photo below on the right) that might have easier access a bit further east. 

We just bum-scooted until we floated. This wasn't any big deal if you have full mobility and are reasonably confident getting in and out of a boat.

The lake is shallow in this end and we had beautiful sunshine. There was some traffic noise (the highway is right there).

The shoreline is spruce with the mountains not far back.

We saw a lot of birds, including this loon sitting on a nest, hoping we would go away.

As you go up the lake, the rock gets closer and the shore gets steeper. The rock is cool with lots of lichen and moss.

Eventually, the rock starts to recede and you get a forested shore again with deeper water. There is an island maybe two thirds of the way down that pinches the lake some. It also offers some shelter from any wind.

The northern basin is a lot of trees. We saw a guy catch something big (he was hooting about it).

The other access point is likely at the northeast end of the lake (red arrow in the photo at the top of the post). You could park at the pull out for west-bound traffic and carry across the highway. There were several places you could get a boat in but it would be good walk (maybe 50m--perhaps more). I would think the tiny beach on the right side of this beaver dam (that blocks a creek) is your best bet. The entrance we used looked easier--kind of depends on your comfort with the parking situation, really.

You could also walk out onto the spit of land and try one of the low spots (e.g., by the fir tree below) but the water was very low here so you'd be poling or bumscooting.

It took us about an hour to go around (maybe it is 4km). The weather changed when we got to the far end and we could see snow coming down the valley. The paddle back into the wind was a bit of a grind but we got out and loaded before the rain fell.

My wife stopped to collect some junk people had dropped.

We pulled out slightly before the place we got in, thinking the footing would be better. It was but there were a lot of rose bushes. Live and learn!

Overall, I'm happy we did it. Talbot is nicer, bigger, and easier and I don't think we'd go back here. The fishing looked good, though!

Lake Annette

In May, we popped onto Lake Annette one evening during our trip to Jasper. Annette was significantly affected by the 2024 fire. We put in at the beach and picnic area in the northeast corner, which was not affected by the fire. The pit toilets, picnic tables, and fire rings are all intact and the beach was clean.

We went right off the beach and paddled the lake counter clockwise. The water was clear and as blue as ever. And most of the trees were intact for the first part of the paddle.

As you get around to the south shore, the burn starts and the trees were burned right down to the waterline.

You could see an amazing distance into the forest. Note the deer in the picture below.

The burned trees were pretty upsetting to see and continue for the full east side of the lake. The lakeshore walking trail was open all the way around.

Eventually, we paddle out of the burn and passed the main beach.

 

We usually do two laps of Annette since it only takes a half hour to go around but we were too bummed by the burn and instead went for ice cream in town. I imagine things will green up as summer goes on. Lake Beavers, which we could not access, had a similar vibe when we stopped at the Jasper Park Lodge for a quick walk.

Patricia Lake

A bright sunny morning greeted us during our May trip to Jasper so we decided to give Patricia Lake a go. You can access the lake in a couple of spots off Pyramid Lake. We chose the entry at the far northeast corner as it had an outhouse and good parking. This outhouse remains one of the nicest in the park, for whatever reason.

The carry was about 20m, just to the south of the parking area and it was a gentle, sandy entry. 

The lake was like glass for most of the 90 minutes it took us to go around (maybe a 5km perimeter).

The clarity of the lake is amazing and with bright sun and a calm surface, it is possible to see almost 30 feet down (note the cliff face below Jenn's kayak in the photo below).

We ran into a pair of loons at the far end.

The clam water also meant great reflections.

We spent a fair bit of time scanning the bottom. There is some WW2 wreckage in the lake but it starts at 45 feet down so is likely beyond what we could see.

We did find this boat bottom.

Plus a couple of sections of old dock.

Then a bunch of fish flies hatched and drove us away from shore (yuck!).

Back at the launch, we found hundreds of minnows snack on these frog eggs.

Overall, a great paddle, which is not always the case on Patricia if the wind comes up.