Johnny's Lake

The 2026 paddling season got off to a late start (I think I got on the Sturgeon April 30). In early May, we headed out to Johnny's Lake for a shake down cruise. Johnny's Lake (orange arrow) is located just north of Star Lake (blue arrow) and best accessed by travelling north from Star Lake on Range Road 25, crossing the train tracks, and then turning west into the small subdivision.

Once you turn into the subdivision (blue arrow below), you can follow the loop around the boat launch road (orange arrow). This road is not signed and is a gravel two track through some closely-set trees. Eventually it opens out to the boat launch (green arrow) where you can park in the turn about.

The launch is just a small cut in the bank and requires you to step down about two feet after walking down a gentle slope. It can be mucky and, later in the summer, the water can be pretty green. This year, the launch was pretty easy and the water was clean in early May. The launch is shallow and there is a firm bottom (sand-gravel) you can stand on if you need to. We managed to get in and out dryfooted with a bit of bum scooting.

This is the launch from the water, showing the elevation change as well as the parking (the carry is about 5 meters).

The attractions of Johnny's Lake are many. There are few private cabins and, thus. almost no powered boats (I have never seen one on the lake). It is also relatively unknown and hard to find so I've also never seen other paddlers here. There are, however, a tonne of birds.

On a calm day, the lake gives great reflections and there are three islands to explore (one in the southwest corner and two just slightly northwest of the launch.

On the southwest shore, there is also a creek you can paddle up (the entrance is by an old hunting blind). This has lots of birds in it and a muskeg shoreline so you may see moose.

The drawbacks of Johnny's Lake is that the water quality is not great. Best case, it has a Mountain Dew tinge and you can see the bottom. As the summer goes on, it gets opaque and sometimes gets algae blooms. It is not really a great lake for SUP (nearby Mayatan and Star are better). The entry is also slightly more challenging than a beach launch (this varies by year and water level). I'd say it is usually a 2 out of 5 in terms of difficulty.

Depending on the day, you can basically see all of the usual lake birds here, including pelicans, swans, eagles, loons, cormorants, grebes, mergansers, and various shore and swamp birds. There are also beavers and muskrats.

If you want to make it a two-fer, Star, Mink, Hasse, and Mayatan lakes are all very close by.

Johnny's Lake

In early May, we put in at Johnny's Lake. The public access can be a bit tough to find so I have put directions here. I was out here last fall but the lake was too green to put in, so I put it on my spring list.

Lots of parking but no washrooms (or, alternately, infinite washrooms). You best bet for washrooms are over at nearby Star Lake. The launch was in better shape than in past years. I moved the wood that had washed in out of the way and we both managed to get in dry footed. 

If you're not into a mildly acrobatic entry, the area in front of my wife's boat has a very solid floor of gravel, maybe 5 inches below the water, so you can just set your boat in a wade a feet out to get in.

There were a huge number of gulls on the lake and the noise was amazing. Johnny's is not really a lovely lake, but it is interesting. there are rarely power boats here and there are three islands to explore plus a creek (and birds all the time). 

We passed between the northern two islands and paddled the west shore. 

The creek isn't hard to find but the duck blind below is a useful marker.

We went maybe 1.5km up the creek. Lots of birds and frogs.

Eventually, the creek got choked off and we turned around.

We went past this huge beaver lodge (right side, wife for scale) and the beginnings of a dam, maybe.

Then we toured the southern island. My wife csrae dup some ducks (just one the bow of her boat).

Overall, a lovely paddle early in the spring. The water was okay (mountain dew coloured) with no algae.

Johnny's Lake

Back in June, I ventured out to Johnny's Lake. The entry point is a bit tough but you can follow the directions here. The entry was pretty good. A bit of algae at the edge but a sandy/gravely bottom beyond that. The bank was muddy and slippery.

I went to the right and paddled around the two big islands on the northern part of the lake.

Lots of birds that were very skittish.

Maybe because of this giant eagles nest on the northern island?

Then I cut south and looped around the long island on the southern edge of the lake. Lots of train action  on the south shore (main line runs here) plus a tonne of birds.

Then over to the eastern edge past the main set of cabins, and back to the public access.

Overall, great paddle. The water was calm, no boats, not too smelly or green (yet...), and lots to see.

Johnny's Lake

On the Thanksgiving weekend, I ventured out to Johnny's Lake, just west of Stony Plain. Access to Johnny's Lake is a bit tricky the first time so I have put a map below. You take Highway 16 west of town then turn south on Highway 770 (just past the big turn north to Whitecourt). 

Go south on 770 and then turn west on Township Road 530. After four miles, this road curves south and becomes Range Road 25. Alternately, you can come up Range Road 25 from the south (Star Lake). Range Road 25 is the north-south road on the right side on the map below. 

Turn into the community and drive to the red arrow, which is an unmarked lane that leads to the boat launch (green arrow). There is lots of room to park at the boat launch but no other facilities (nearest washrooms are at Star Lake to the south, I think).

The launch itself was a mixed bag. About an 18-inch drop down to a small shelf of soft weeds and mud. Then a very nice, shallow gravel bed under the water. But the water was very green. 

I was happy to get away with mostly dry feet. The water further out was iced-tea coloured with patches of green.

The lake was very pretty and I was the only one on the water. There were a couple of power boats at cabins on the south end but I don't see a public launch anywhere. Too many hazards for boats to go very fast anyhow.

The water was super calm so there were great reflections. The shoreline was shallow and weedy almost the whole way around.

But there are three big islands for interest and lots of evidence of beaver activity.

The geese and ducks were super skittish. But there was still some lovely fall colour to enjoy.

I found a couple of shells floating in the water, which might explain why the birds were ansty!

Paddling the perimeter is maybe 90- to 120-minutes. Lots of dead heads in places but a nice enough lake. I imagine there would be lots of birds to see in the spring. The lake is big enough (and open enough on the west) that it could get rough if there was a good breeze.