Payne Lake

In late August, we stopped on our way back from Waterton at Payne Lake, just west of Cardston. Payne Lake is a reservoir and includes two campgrounds and a nice boat launch in the provincial recreation area.

There was a cement boat launch, a dock, and an easy gravel launch right in front of where we parked. There were also pit toilets.

The lake runs northwest to southeast and is about 3.5km long and 1 km wide. We went up the southwest shore.

Mostly the shoreline is trees and open grazing land and there were lots of cows.

The mountains in the distance were super pretty. The water was sometimes clear and sometimes had a bit of algae.

We saw lots of pelicans and there were a couple of small islands. Despite it being Friday afternoon at the height of summer, there was almost no one on the lake once we got out of the south end.

The north shore is more agricultural and really shows off the huge sky.

It was hot (28 degrees) and calm and a very nice paddle. Nothing super notable about the lake, but a very nice paddle. It looks us about 90 minutes to go around and we short-cutted the north bay cause we ran out of water!

As a note to myself, if I was to go back through here, I'd also look into Beaverdam Lake (just east), the Waterton Reservoir (to the north) and also Outpost Lake in Police Outpost Provincial Park, just south of Beazer.

Cameron Lake

In late August, we spent a few days in Waterton Lake National Park doing some volunteer stuff (collecting wheat grass seed for restoration efforts and battling the scourge of burdock). In between, we drove up to Cameron Lake. Waterton has restricted outside boats to control invasive so we rented a pair of kayaks and set off down the lake.

You can launch off the dock or the nearby beach. The lake runs basically north-south and the perimeter is 6km (or maybe a bit more). It took us about 90 minutes with some gawking down at the far end. The far end of the lake is actually in the US.

We went clockwise. Much of the north end of the lake (and the drive in) was burned in 2017. The silvered pine trunks are an interesting contrast to the green undergrowth and were full of purple fireweed (not obvious in photos, but amazing in person--like a mauve mist up though the trees).

The north end of the lake was pretty crowded with boaters. About half way down, we left everyone else behind.

Except this eagle that we followed (or chased) around the lake.

It is hard to overstate how pretty the lake was. Clear water, rocky bottom, majestic peaks, yada, yada. Very reminiscent of Lake Louise minus the zillion tourists. The weather was also exceptional, 20 degrees and sunny with a slight breeze.

The south end was interesting. There are a few islands, some ponds behind the shoreline, amazing waterfalls, a bit of late-season snow high up. Watching the mountainside continue down towards the lake bottom is always cool. There are places to get out down here to stretch your legs but no real place to go.

You can hike a ways down the western shore on a path and there are small beaches here (if you want something more secluded than the main beach).

Parks Canada has done an amazing job of restoring all of the facilities throughout Waterton that were damaged (or destroyed) during the fire. All of the toilets and picnic shelters are new, clean, and accessible. Even the pavement was great.

This was definitely one of the best paddles of the summer. I'd totally do Cameron Lake again. If we'd gone with our own boats we would have spent a lot more time down at the other end just enjoying the views.

Beauvais Lake

In late August, we headed south towards Waterton and put in at Beauvais Lake (just 30ish km west of Pincher Creek). Access is through the the Beauvais Lake Provincial Park (no fees) and there is also camping available here.

The launch was great. You can drop your boats at the edge of the lake. There is a cement launch and a gravel shore launch right beside the dock. You can also go off the dock and there is a proper kayak launch. There were also nice pit toilets here.

The lake is 3km (or maybe a bit more) long and about half a km wide, running northwest to southeast. We paddled it clockwise. Immediately left off the launch is a series of private cabins that eventually give way to a public day use area.

We had basically every kind of weather in the hour and a bit we paddled here except snow. It started out cloudy. Then the wind came way up and blew us down the lake.

The lake was pretty weedy in late August and there was a lot of fishing and fish jumping.

The wind eventually quit and blue skies appeared to the north. And then it poured as we hit the southeast end of the lake.

We paddled back on the southwest shore, which was swampy and then eventually gave away to an alpine vibe (rocky with a steep slope and fir trees.

As the skies cleared, you could see the mountains.

The northwest end was also swampy but the water was very clear.

Overall, a great paddle and great facilities. I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to come here. But, if I was driving along the mountains (to or from Waterton), I might well come back (with my rain coat!).

Waterton and Linnet Lakes

We took a brief (and slightly smokey) trip to Waterton National Park a few weeks back and got a bit of paddling in. There are five lakes of note in the park, but access to Cameron Lake was closed due to last year's wildfires, so we were only able to check out four.

Upper Waterton Lake

The townsite of Waterton is adjacent to Upper Waterton Lake. The lake stretched roughly north-south for about 11km and a boat trip can take you south to the American side.

Emerald Bay (on the northwest corner of the lake) offers the easiest paddling with pea-gravel beaches around the western perimeter and shelter from the wind. There is decent parking and washrooms here. There were deer in the picnic area here.

The bay isn't big but the clear water and interesting bottom features make it fun for kids.

We had a nice time for about an hour checking out the marina, the breakwater, and the bay. The place was packed by the afternoon with boaters and swimmers (although at 4C, I thought the swimmers were brave).

There is also access to the lake all along the eastern and southern edge of the townsite. The beach isn't as nice and you must contend with the wind and the waves right away. The very south end of town (past the campsite) looks like a decent spot to launch from if you wanted to go down the lake a ways.

To the east of Emerald Bay is the narrows that separates Upper and Middle Waterton Lakes (on my map it is shown as the Bosporus). I wanted to get over here but the wind came up and I didn't want to try cutting across two-foot rollers with Jessica (who is a slow paddler). It is also possible to access the narrows from Middle Waterton Lake.

Middle Waterton Lake

Middle Waterton Lake is a smaller lake, although it is large enough to get some decent waves. The headlands that the Prince of Wales Hotel sits on offers a nice bit of shelter on the south shore of the lake.

You can access the lake from Driftwood Beach (parking lot, boat launch, picnic site, washrooms) right across from the Parks Operations Centre. This lot also gives you access to Linnet Lake (see below). You can also access the lake from a parking lot a few hundred metres further towards the park gates.

You can paddle from here around the headlands and access the narrows from the north side. We saw a bear and two cubs swimming in the narrows while we were there.

Lower Waterton Lake



Lower Watertown Lake is the closest lake to the park gates. It connects to Middle Waterton Lake through a small creek called (rather dramatically) The Dardanelles. We did not try this connection.

The best access is at the northern tip of the lake at the Knight picnic site. A very short carry from the parking lot to the rocky shore gets you on the lake.

The lake also connects at the north end to Maskinoge Lake and, via a river, onto the Waterton Reservoir (we did not paddle either of these lakes).

Linnet Lake

The last lake we looked at in the park is tiny Linnet Lake, located just north of the Prince of Wales hotel and accessed from the Driftwood Beach parking lot.



The lake is small and entirely sheltered. It would be a great paddle for kids.

The lake was, however, signed for swimmer's itch. It was also just a nice sheltered place to read a book out of the (relentless) wind.