Black Nugget Lake
Designated Dark Site by RASC Edmonton Centre
Welcome to Kara Outdoors, a look at Alberta trails, paddling adventures and outdoor specific information that will help you feel comfortable setting out on your own adventures in the wilderness or local forest. Subscribe below for free and join our community of adventurers. Feel free to send me your comments or ideas for new trails in the comments section below. If this is your first time here, you can catch up on anything you’ve missed by following this link.
This little winding lake was such a great find!
Friends and I were planning a day trip to paddle and we discovered a couple options from www.paddlingmaps.com. We chose Black Nugget Lake and we’re really glad we did!
Between 1923 and 1965, the lake was the Black Nugget Coal Mine No. 1107. You can find out a little more about the geology and history of the lake on the RASC Edmonton Centre website. If you look at the satellite map of the lake it is evident that it is man-made as the lake has square corners and abrupt ends that would only be created by machinery.
It is interesting to note the slight changes in the topography between the older photograph and the satellite image above it. The lake has increased in size while the land between some of the inlets has shrunk. It is not really shocking that this is happening as the lake was created from mining machinery scraping down into the land so there is no natural outflow of the lake water other than seeping in to the groundwater (I have not discovered any other outflow). Groundwater flow is a slower process than a creek or river outflow, so water levels will rise with rain and snow runoff over time. All the better to paddle on, I say!
The banks of the lake are steep so if it’s your first trip there, stick to the boat launches for your put-in and take-out. Access to the Day Use area is through the campground. The boat launch is not right next to day use parking so we drove to the closest boat launch to drop our gear and boats before parking our vehicles in the day use lot. This map shows the Day Use areas.
The lake bottom is all muck. Yes, muck and I almost lost my flip flops to it. Fortunately they stayed on my feet as I pulled each foot out of the squelching muck to I climbed aboard my Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP). We paddled into the wind to start so we wouldn’t end up stuck on the far side of the lake trying to get back as we had a timeline that day. While we were on land the wind was quite blustery but once down on the lake we were more sheltered and didn’t have any trouble paddling where ever we wanted.
It was the perfect sunny day with just enough wind to keep us cool. The sky was vast and bright blue and I was so happy to be on the water for even a short time. My only sadness was that Black Nugget Lake is not optimal for swimming. I am sure people have done it but it’s murky with lots of weeds and sandbars. Given the possible algae growth and the muck, I decided it was not ideal for a swim.
Although no swimmers were in sight we did cross paths in a few fishing boats. Each spring and fall the lake is stocked with Rainbow Trout, so I believe it is a local hidden gem amongst fisher-people. The campground surrounding the lake is lovely. There were the usual campground sites in rows accommodating large RV’s and trailers near the entrance of the campground. There were also sites around the northeast side of the lake that were farther apart. These were surrounded by trees and facing the lake. It is far less treed than some campgrounds but has some lovely spots.
Black Nugget is a designated dark site which means that area works to minimize light pollution to help facilitate viewing the night sky. The lake has an Astronomical Observing Site run by RASC Edmonton Centre at the north end of the lake that is open to members, between Thanksgiving and May 1 each year, for night sky viewing. This site also hosts the Northern Prairie Star Party. It sounds like fun if you like to view night skies. You can find out more about the Star Party by following this LINK.
My intrepid fellow paddlers, Teri and Nadine, made this excursion fun and full of laughter, even as we “feared for our lives”. We were faced with birds swooping at our heads guarding their nests, sucking muck trying to eat our shoes and weedy sandbars just under the surface that were determined to stop any forward momentum, and did for a time. But we prevailed, worked paddling muscles we didn’t know we had, and learning the very technical paddling maneuver of “schooching” our boats forward over the sandbar by rocking forward/back while paddling. Anyone who’s ever been stuck on a flat rock or sandbar while paddling will have a great mental image of what I mean. For those who don’t, see below, only imagine that motion done while in a boat.
We had a great time on the water!
Family Friendly: YES - bring your family to paddle, fish or camp at this Beaver County gem - swimming NOT recommended
Seasons: Mainly May 1 - Thanksgiving - Day Use Fishing is open year round (according to the campground website) and between Thanksgiving and May 1 members can use the Dark Sky Observing Site - contact Beaver County if you want to inquire further about winter use at this lake
Nature: a natural prairie paradise - Birders should definitely check out this lake - we saw some Cormorants, Canada Geese, a type of sandpiper (or something that looked like one and did all the swooping at our heads as we passed by), mallards and small songbirds - this lake is just east of the Beaver Hills Biosphere and is a great area for Birders to visit - I assume there are also larger animals like deer, beaver, bears and other land creatures but we didn’t see any on our trip
We had a fabulous visit and I will certainly return to this location in the future to discover more of what Black Nugget Lake has to offer.
Until we meet on the trail (or water),
Kara