Rundle Forebay Reservoir, Canmore

Above the town of Canmore is the Spray Lakes Reservoir, a terraced series of reservoirs. In July, we paddled the Rundle Forebay Reservoir, which is the lowest terrace. To access this, we were required to buy a Kananaskis park pass from the province.

Access is off the Three Sisters Parkway by the Canmore Nordic Centre. There is parking at the edge of the reservoir as soon as you cross the dam and additional parking up at the Nordic Centre. The carry is about 100 feet to the edge of the water and the entry is easy off a gravel beach.

The picture above is a panorama of the mountains looking towards the far end of the reservoir.

This is an easy paddle that is about 3km round trip. There is a very slight current but nothing to be worried about.

Once you leave the main bay you are working your way up a canal with trees on the left and a berm on the right. People walk and cycle the berm.

At the far end, there is another larger bay and you can see where the second terrance drops down.

The pano-shot above looks back towards Canmore.

A lovely and easy paddle. The reservoir got quite busy the day we were there with paddle boarders and kayakers and some brave swimmers (t was cold!).

When we were done, we headed to nearby Quarry Lake for lunch and a swim. There are charging for parking here now.

It was nearly 30 degrees the day we were there and the beach was hopping.

Spray Lakes Reservoir, Canmore

The Spray Lakes Reservoir is located just south and west of Canmore as you climb up towards the Nordic Centre. It is located on the same road and very close to Quarry Pond. The first access point is just past the dam itself on the south side of the road.



There is a small beach and the carry is less than 50 feet. The lake extends back into the mountains for quite a distance. For much of that, the reservoir is narrow.

There is quite a lot of wild life to be seen here. And the picture below was shot from the parking lot of the Canmore Nordic Centre (which has a cafeteria, washrooms, and an equipment rental centre).

This might be a good paddle to combine with a morning or afternoon at Quarry Lake.