Showing posts with label Johnson Lake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Johnson Lake. Show all posts

Saturday, September 1, 2018

Johnson Lake, Banff National Park

Earlier this summer, we had a chance to visit Johnson Lake, just NE of Banff on the Minnewanka Road loop. This small lake offers a nice paddling opportunity close to the townsite but far enough away to eave behind the crowds.



There is a fair sized parking lots with new washrooms under construction. There is also a boat and foot-rinse station as the park tries to control the spread of whirling disease and invasive species.


It is a short (200 feet?) carry down a gentle slope to put in off a sandy beach. There are picnic tables here. You can also access the 3.5km walking trail that loops the lake from here.


We arrived on a very smoking day, thus our pictures are dull and didn't show off how beautiful the lake normally is to look at. There is a nice bay to poke around in immediately to the left of the beach when you launch.


At each end of the lake, there is a small dam and a bridge. Halfway up the lake on the south side there is a rope swing out over the water.


The rest of the lake is a gentle paddle in the mountains (alas, invisible due to smoke in those pictures).



It is about an hour down the lake and back at a very leisurely pace (about the same time to walk the perimeter trail). Overall, a nice place to kayak or paddle board. If the wind is coming from the right direction, the lake can get a touch rough.