Isle Lake Natural Area (SAPAA)

Back to Northwest Quadrant – YEG-Ville.

For current information on this site, please visit the Stewards of Alberta’s Protected Areas Association: Isle Lake Natural Area page.

Isle Lake straddles Parkland and Lac Ste. Anne counties. The lake’s name refers to the presence of several islands. In the past Isle Lake was called Lac des Isles and Lac des Islets (Holmgren and Holmgren 1976); now it is known locally as Lake Isle.

The Fast Facts

Early History of the Area

The Hudson Bay had a trading fort in the area on Lac St. Anne about 14 km northeast. European settlement started in 1905 and accelerated after the second world war. The lake itself is fed by the Sturgeon River and surrounding drainage basin. The lake is shallow, long and narrow [1, Isle Lake, Online Version].

This ~260-acre natural area is located in the southern portion of the lake and is intersected by Township Road 535. There is another large area of crown land at the Baybridge outlet of the lake; the two are not contiguous.

  • Name/Owner: Isle Lake Natural Area / Provincial Natural Area.
  • Map Reference, Location and Wayne Gretzky Units:
    • Central Alberta Backroads Map Book, p. Wabamun Lake (p. 44), Cell A4.
    • 53′ 37″ -114′ 43″; drive North from Highway 16 on Range Road 55 (He Ho Ha Road).
    • Wayne Gretzky Driving Time & Distance: 1 hour(s) 2 Min(s) & 89 Kilometers
  • Rating and Description:
    • Difficulty Level & Safety: High Beginner due to walking along rutted ATV tracks.
    • The area is largely in accessible other than trails off the intersecting road. These trails are highly rutted due to ATV traffic so considerable caution is required.
  • Links:
  • The Drive Out: consider driving out on Highway 633 which is paved west of Highway 43. It offers a scenic and rural trip. If you take Highway 16, stop off at the Yellowhead Trading Post just East of Gainford (6118A Highway 16, Seba Beach, Alberta).
  • The Other Shoe: Fat biking is a very remote possibility.
  • Kid Rating: Not kid friendly.
  • Frank’s Trip Notes
    • First done: 2020-12-15.

Notes and Reference

  1. Mitchell, Patricia, and E. E. Prepas. “Atlas of Alberta Lakes.” Edmonton, Alberta: University of Alberta Press, 1990. http://albertalakes.ualberta.ca/?page=lake&lake=79&region=3.

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