Picnic area · Peter Lougheed Provincial Park
A lakeside picnic stop with a short Lower Kananaskis Lake viewpoint walk.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Peter Lougheed Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Peter Lougheed audio tourRecorded for this place
Peninsula Day Use: The Short Viewpoint Walk“Up ahead is Peninsula Day Use Area, a simple picnic stop on Lower Kananaskis Lake, open from May through October.”
Plays as you drive up to Peninsula Day Use Area in the Parkwolf Peter Lougheed Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Peninsula Day Use Area is a front-country picnic stop on Lower Kananaskis Lake, set beside the water with a broad mountain backdrop. It's an easy place to slow down for a meal and the lakeshore; a short walk at the western end adds a Lower Lake viewpoint. Think picnic and scenery, not a long outing.
Head for the western end of the area for the short walk to the lake viewpoint. It's the best reason to leave the picnic tables: you get a more open look across Lower Kananaskis Lake and the surrounding peaks.
The listed season is May 1 through October 31. Picnic tables are present, but no food or potable water is confirmed here, and restroom access isn't clear. Treat this as an outdoor picnic stop rather than a service hub.
Lower Kananaskis Lake became a hydroelectric reservoir when its earth-fill dam was built in 1954; a power plant and penstock are part of the same system. At full supply, the lake covers 646 hectares, compared with 290 hectares before impoundment. Its level averages a 12.5-metre winter drawdown, so the waterline can look different through the year.
Wildlife
132 sightingsGrizzly BearMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
17 sightingsCanada LynxMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
30 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
69 sightingsMooseMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
176 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
19 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 8 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Peter Lougheed. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ModerateLower Lake Trail7 km · 1.8 hr · 0.7 km awayA shoreline walk with Spray Range views across Lower Kananaskis Lake.
EasyPenstock Loop Snowshoe Trail4.5 km · 1.8 hr · 0.7 km awayA winter loop with waterworks history and wide lake views.
ChallengingSouth Lawson Peak Trail7.8 km · 5.5 hr · 0.7 km awayA steep forest climb opens onto a rocky ridge above two lakes.
EasyLower Lake Snowshoe Trail3.9 km · 1.8 hr · 0.7 km awayAn easy snowshoe along Lower Lake beneath a wall of peaks.
ModerateHigh Rockies Trail (Peter Lougheed Section)16.8 km · 6 hr · 0.8 km awayA forested High Rockies traverse from Lower Kananaskis Lake to Elk Pass.
EasyCanyon Snowshoe Trail1.7 km · 45 min · 2.1 km awayA low-climb link to Lower Lake and Penstock winter trails.
ChallengingGypsum Ridge Trail5.1 km · 3 hr · 2.3 km awayA steep, unsigned ridge climb to wide views over the Kananaskis Lakes.
ChallengingKent Ridge South Trail7 km · 4 hr · 2.4 km awayTwo south-ridge summits, a tough climb, and lakes below.Picnic area · 0.7 km awayCanyon Day Use AreaLake access and picnic tables under a rugged mountain wall.
Campground · 1.3 km awayCanyon CampgroundA first-come, 50-site base for lake-area hikes and paved cycling.
Visitor center · 2.1 km awayPeter Lougheed Park Discovery & Information CentreA compact wildlife museum with a chance of meadow bears.
Sight · 2.2 km awayPocaterra Warming HutA heated hut beside several cross-country ski trail starts.
Sight · 2.4 km awayBlackshale Creek Suspension BridgeA 73-metre span makes a creek crossing the payoff.
Campground · 2.6 km awayPocaterra Walk-in Tenting Group CampgroundGroup camping with a shelter and room for 20 units
Lodging · 3.3 km awayWilliam Watson LodgeBarrier-free cabins make a Lower Kananaskis Lake stay possible.
Campground · 3.8 km awayElkwood CampgroundA wooded campground with 126 sites for tents and RVs.Parkwolf’s Peter Lougheed ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
