Canyon Day Use Area

Canyon Day Use Area is a year-round picnic and boat-launch stop on the north shore of Lower Kananaskis Lake, beside Canyon Campground. Come for direct lake access, fishing near the dam, and views toward Mount Indefatigable and Mount Inflexible. It’s a useful place to picnic or get onto the water; the old canyon trail nearby is a separate story.

There’s a boat launch, picnic tables and firepits, pit or vault toilets, and tap water. Anglers can fish near the dam. Follow the signs for Canyon Creek Day Use from Highway 742. It’s a year-round day-use stop, with cross-country skiing and snowshoeing among the winter activities.

Lower Kananaskis Lake was raised by 11 metres when Pocaterra Dam and its power plant were built in 1955. Before the lakes were separated by the dam, Upper and Lower Kananaskis Lakes were linked by a short river and a small waterfall. Hogue and Cressey islands were submerged as the water level rose; Hawke Island remains.

The Kananaskis Canyon Interpretive Trail once ran beside the canyon, but floodwater released in 2013 to protect the dam destroyed its bridges and trail. The route was permanently closed after bridge material was removed in 2019. Today, come here for the lake shore and launch rather than a canyon walk.

From the north shore, look toward Mount Indefatigable and Mount Inflexible. For a wide photo, keep some water and shoreline in the foreground; that gives the long ridge a sense of scale.