Akamina Lake

The signed trailhead is beside the washrooms on the left when you face Cameron Lake from its parking lot. It’s 1 km (0.6 mi) round trip, easy, with minimal elevation gain; allow about 30 minutes. The washrooms are at the Cameron Lake lot, not by Akamina Lake. The Akamina Parkway can be congested on weekends, so a weekday or an early or later visit is the easier bet.

The path passes through marshy forest to the lake, where Cameron Creek flows in. It’s a small, sheltered setting, with the creek and wet shoreline giving you more to look at than an open-water panorama.

For a photo, include the grasses or stones at the water’s edge with the lake and forested slope across it. That foreground gives the small lake some scale and keeps the picture tied to this particular shore.

Moose are often seen feeding on vegetation at the bottom of the lake, and Steller’s jays nest in the surrounding trees. They’re a possibility, not a promise; the walk is worthwhile even if you only get a quiet look at the water.

The origin of “Akamina” hasn’t been determined. You may hear it pronounced either “Aka-meen-a” or “Aka-mine-a.” Winter access is a different trip: vehicles reach only as far as Little Prairie on the Akamina Parkway, and people continue toward Cameron Lake by skis or snowshoes when conditions allow. Don’t count on the short summer walk being a 30-minute outing in winter.