Kayaking on Upper Kananaskis Lake

There seems to be a direct correlation between distance traveled from Calgary and the quality of the lake paddling. This trip went a little further than Lower Kananaskis Lake and the reward was more impressive scenery, and a lake that's fairly circular (unusual for the larger lakes in this glaciated area) , so you can spread out a bit, and not always be close to the shore.

It was meant to be a beautiful day in the mountains and worth making a five hour round trip for. The day certainly started out sunny, and I had hopes of paddling about 14 km round the shore.

The lake was pretty popular and there was a massive group of paddlers out, with several bizarre-looking sea kayaks equipped with double outriggers. I suspect they were stabilizers for novice paddlers. The only bad thing about Upper K Lake is the powerboat access, which can make it a bit noisy at times.

After about 45 minutes, the cloud was building and we decided to cut the trip short, taking in a couple of islands on the way back. We got caught in a squall on the way to the middle of the lake, and were glad to beach on the first island, which was a perfect lunch spot. It also appeared to be a perfect camping spot, but sadly after we had cirumnavigated it, Lou spotted a sign saying 'No Camping' - you can see why, as every redneck with an outboard would be partying here all summer long if not. We did spot a campfire and tent on the far side of the lake though, so there is still potential for a paddle and camp in this area.


Once we left the island, the wind and waves built pretty quickly, and were hitting us abeam, which made for a fun paddle home. My boat got swamped leaving the beach, before I could get my deck back on.

We got back to the slip as the rain started, and we got drenched loading the boats. Still, better to be on land than caught out by the thunderstorm, like the guys in this photograph!

Here's the full album link.

Vermillion Lakes, Banff

This is a really scenic place to dip a paddle, although the water is generally very shallow and the bottom sediment stinks when you stir it up. The views are pretty special though! The launch point is from one of a few spots along the two lakes, which are joined by a narrow channel. Out of melt season this channel (and the lakes) may be impassable to boats. There is also an access route via a narrow winding creek from the rental concession in Banff, although I don't know what the rules are on that one.

This was a nice afternoon trip from Calgary, following a pleasant 40 km bike ride that I did in the morning with Hamish - our plans for riding the Jasper-Banff in seven weeks' time are slowly coming together - now in addition to the seven bikes we'll be taking two kayaks for evening R & R after riding. You could be forgiven for thinking this trip will be a holiday!

More pictures of kayaking on these lakes can be found here.

Update on The Ice Breakup

When does the ice break up around here for paddling? I couldn't find anything online to help me, so here's a record of how things have been in 2009.

Before May 1: No lakes clear in or west of Calgary. Bow River had cleared early in April.

May 3: Glenmore Reservoir was partially clear, but some icebreaking required to get between the south and north shores. Weaselhead Flats inaccessible. Ghost Reservoir still completely frozen, but looked like it might clear soon.

May 6: Glenmore Reservoir clear.

May 8: Phone call to warden in Barrier Lake info centre indicated that all of the local lakes (Spray, Barrier, K Lakes) are still frozen.

Kayaking on Barrier Lake

After a trip to Waterton Lakes where the rental rate for a canoe was extortionate, Lou and I decided to buy recreational/touring kayaks so that we could drift around the Rockies lakes. Here are some pictures from our first outing, on Barrier Lake (actually a reservoir), in Kananaskis Country. This is about 75 mins drive from home.