Obed Lake

Obed Lake is the western-most lake of three lakes located in Obed Lake Provincial Park, about half way between Edson and Hinton on Highway 16.

Access is clearly marked and entails a short gravel road off the north-side of the highway, which eventually becomes the boat launch. A fairly typical foothills lake--reeds, treed shoreline, sandy soil under some grass. Not a great campsite by any means (pit toilets, few sites crammed closely together, no hand sanitizer and a boil-water advisory on the hand pump).

There is a small campsite, washrooms, and picnic tables. There was a fair bit of water fowl and a collection of anglers. The lake was very warm the day we were there, maybe 15 C or so in the shallows at the boat launch. The bottom was sandy and I'd be worried about swimmer's itch.

Overall, much less nice than Jarvis Lake just 60km down the road. We stopped here for lunch on our way back from Jasper but I don’t think we’ll be back.

Jarvis Lake

Jarvis Lake is located in William Switzer Provincial Park, about 5 km west of Hinton on Highway 16 and then 18km north on Highway 40. There are five lakes and a creek in the park, with Jarvis Lake being the southern-most lake. This is a lovely place to stop for a picnic lunch on the way to Jasper.

There is a large day-use area which includes a boat launch, dock, washrooms, playground, swimming area and picnic site. There is also a campground with separate docks.

The lake itself runs north-south (the day-use site is at the south end) with both a NW and NE reach, the latter being quite extensive. The water is very clear and was glassy-calm while were were there (boat wakes excluded!).

There is apparently a canoe route along Jarvis Creek that runs about 4km, starting where Highway 40 crosses the creek near Kelley’s Bathtub and ending at the Graveyard campground. This route can be paddled both way, although we've not tried it.

Lake Edith, Jasper

Nestled beside Lake Annette is Lake Edith. The two of them make a nice day of paddling with a swim (in Annette, which is slightly warmer) and lunch interspersed.


If you had dinner at the Jasper Park Lodge, you could add in a paddle on Lac Beauvert in the evening.

Edith runs basically north-south, with a longer reach on the east side of the lake. There are private cabins at the north end of the lake and your best access is from the parking lot on the south end. There is a short carry (150-feet?) and then you launch off of the beach.

The is a small creek to the west of the beach as well as an island in the north-western reach of the lake. In the north-eastern reach there are interesting sandbars (I think you can walk across the lake at one point) and a sunken kayak to spot.

Edith has (at a guess) about 4km of shoreline. There is also a series of roads and bike paths that allow you to circle the lake. This yields some very nice views of Pyramid Mountain.

Like most lakes in Jasper, the waters is very clear and has a lovely green tinge. This is as easy paddle for novice canoeists and I don't recall ever seeing the lake particularly rough.

Slow start to the season

A shoulder injury (ironically from too much working out this winter to be better prepared for summer activities) has sidelined my canoeing partner so we won't be getting out much this year.

I do expect we'll have a few updates over the summer and I'll take my camera along when we visit canoeing spot with our bicycles.

This has, however, meant much more time for gardening and the yard looks fantastic!

Wizard Lake

Wizard Lake is located south of Calmar on Secondary Highway 795, west on Township Road 481 and then south on Range Road 271. The very long and narrow lake runs NE-SW and is a popular water-skiiing spot, particularly on the weekends.

Wizard Lake is also very canoe-able with good access and (the four times we've been there) very little wind. I'd guess the lake is over 10km long but only half a km wide.

There are several places to access Wizard lake but one of the nicest is on the east end (as per the directions above) at the Jubilee Campground. There is a very nice public beach (with concession and bathrooms) here and fairly nice swimming.

There is boat launch in the parking lot (below) here which makes for an easy entry.

There is also a boat launch (below) in the campground.

The lake is lovely, particularly in the autumn. It was known as Conjuring Lake when I was a kid and was the site of a famed nudist camp in the 1970s.

On future trips, we hope to explore it western end a bit more (perhaps by continuing down Township Road 481) which is reputed to be sandier and better for swimming. It is also subject to a speed limit which might make it friendlier to canoes.

Talbot Lake, Jasper

Talbot Lake is located on the southeast side of Highway 16 just inside the Jasper Park gates.

Talbot is a fairly large lake and offers a fairly good day of paddling with very clear water. It has good pike fishing. And the 5km length of the lake means there are some interesting parts to explore.

On the other side of the highway is Jasper Lake and towards Jasper is Edna Lake. Together, these three paddle can make for a nice day.

The easiest access point is the boat launch (above), located halfway down the lake. You can also simply pull off the highway onto the grass and access it almost anywhere but that involves getting a bit wetter than at the boat launch.

There is also some good birdwatching to be had. We stopped one day to watching a bald eagle and there are plenty of waterfowl. Friends report seeing osprey.

Annette Lake, Jasper

Annette Lake is my favourite paddle in Jasper. Located just north of Lac Beauvert and south of Edith Lake, it takes about 45 minutes to paddle around the lake.



The colour of the water is spectacular on a sunny day and the beach is a nice diversion for cranky kids.


The small size of the lake mean that it is often glassy calm and you can see the undulating bottom. You'll often find scuba divers in the NW corner of the lake.

The easiest place to put in is off the main beach. There are three parking lots and you want the right-most one when you come into the park. This requires about a 40-foot carry to the water. There is also a picnic area here with washrooms visible across the field.

The beach is quite lovely and can be busy on a nice day. The brave can even swim in the lake. I've only been in once (one day when it was 34 degrees outside) and it was a good break. The water is quite shallow so you can wade out quite a ways.

Annette is very picturesque due to the colour of the lake. Here a shot (alas, not mine) of Annette on a stormy day. There is a paved path around the lake (about 2.5km) that is wheelchair accessible.

A nice day is a morning paddling at Edith Lake, lunch and the afternoon on the beach at Annette, dinner at the Jasper Park Lodge and an evening paddle on Lake Beauvert.