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.

Patricia Lake, Jasper

Located just north of the Jasper townsite on Pyramid Lake Road, Patricia Lake has an interesting history. During the second war, Patricia Lake was the site of Operation Habbakuk where a floating airfield of ice and sawdust was tested as a way to extend air cover to convoys in the North Atlantic.

The lake is about two mile long and runs mostly SW-NE. At the south-west end of the lake, there is a nice bend to the north-west. Most of the shore line looks like the picture below but the north shore towards the west end of the lake allows you to paddle close to some very steep slopes. Like most Jasper lakes, the clarity of the water is spectacular.

Guest at Patricia Lake Bungalows can access the water mid-way down the lake using this lovely dock.

There are two other good public access points. Pyramid Lake Road parallels the south-east shore of the lake for several hundred feet and there are two road-side pull outs. The second pull out (near the end of the lake) offers good parking, easy access to the water down a shallow trail and a sandy/silty bottom to launch from.

A bit further along (around the east end of the lake) there is a third pull out with the cleanest bathroom in the National Parks and a boat ramp about 60 feet from the parking lot. You can see it in the picture above where the canoes are chained up.

Weather can be a factor on Patricia. This shot is taken from approximately the same location as the one above on a foggy morning where visibility was less than 100 feet. This rapidly burned off as the morning went on.

A trip that includes both Patricia and nearby Pyramid Lake makes for a nice day of paddling. There is also a pretty hike that takes you through the Cottonwood Slough and Patricia Lakes area that runs about 5km.