Four girls and two canoes ventured out on Maligne Lake in mid-June of 2019 for a 3-day backcountry trip. Maligne Lake is 22km in length and we paddled the entire thing twice! We stayed at Coronet Creek for our first night and then Fisherman's Bay on the second night.
The weather wasn’t the best as we were paddling on the first day and we were in full winter gear. We started paddling before the Maligne Lake cruises started to avoid the wake that the boats cause. Some boat drivers do not slow down with enough room to not allow for a big wake to hit the smaller boats. If you are heading down to Coronet creek campground I would recommend starting as early as possible so that you allow yourself plenty of time due to any delays e.g boat wakes, wind, white caps, bad weather, mid-summer snow storm.
All paddling boats are launched from the far of the lake near the Bald Hills trailhead at Home Bay. You will head straight down the lake on the right-hand side, hugging the coastline is always safest in case you capsize or something goes wrong. After 4km or about 1-hour paddling, you will reach Hidden Cove the first campground on the lake. I have written a separate post about this campground. After Hidden Cove, we crossed the lake (while dodging boats) to hug the left-hand coastline while we paddled up to Four Mile Point picnic spot and had a rest there.
After a break and some drinks we continued to hug the left-hand coastline and through the Samson narrows, which is some of the best paddling because on the lake as the views are really close to you. We reached the second campground which is Fishermans Bay campground. We weren’t staying here until the second night but we wanted to check it out on the way. After a quick stop here we paddling the next 1km to Spirit Island where we had lunch. Spirit Island is 13km from the boat launch and meant that our lunch spot was just over half of our journey. Spirit Island is the most photographed location in Jasper National Park and even though I had been here a few times via the cruise boat, there is just something special about paddling there yourself. Maybe because you feel like you really deserve it, I don’t know. The cruise boats do not go past Spirit Island so you no longer have to battle with the boats and wakes. Also for some reason, the water gets even bluer once you leave Spirit Island.
The last 8km felt like it went on forever! Maybe it’s because this section of the lake is so wide and it’s hard to know how fast you are travelling or maybe it’s because we were tired but man it took a long time to get to Coronet Creek. We think it took us about 8 hours including breaks to paddle to Coronet Creek.
We were one of the first groups to stay at Coronet Creek this summer season and there were signs of grizzly bears everywhere including a paw print on the bear locker. We hung out with everyone at the campground while we all sheltered under tarps that other people had smartly bought with them.
For our second day, we had a chill of paddling back to Fishermans Bay so we decided to hike part of the Henry MacLoed Trail which starts from Coronet Creek Campground. It is a 16km hike but we only did half of that and had some beers on the way. The trail starts from the back of the tent pads and you should be able to see a trail.
Once we got back from the hike and repacked the canoes we headed off for Fishermans Bay campground at around noon. The paddle back didn’t feel like it took as long as the trip there but we were happy to dock up at the campground.
We ran into our friend's dad and my neighbour at the campground and they fed us boujee food (lamb shank and spicy beans, much better than our rice and tuna meals) and we had enjoyed spending the night drinking with them by the fire.
For the last day of paddling the weather was incredible and really hot. To think that we had paddled in our winter gear on the first day and now we were paddling in our sports bras on the last day was such a good treat. The view from Fisherman's campground when the water is flat and the reflection is perfect is incredible. We averaged about 4km per hour and overall we had good conditions and we didn’t go particularly lightweight for our gear.
FAQ
How do I book a campground on Maligne Lake?
You have to book a site through Parks Canada and as this is one of the most beautiful and famous areas in the national park these sites sell out as soon as the bookings become available. So either book online when the sites first go on sale normally in January or check the reservations regularly for a cancellation.
Canoe vs Kayak
Canoes can hold more gear and you can take more luxuries aka beer with you. However, a kayak will be a lot faster, especially a double kayak. There are many places in Jasper that you can rent boats from so compare the prices and see what is best for you. Check out Pure Outdoors and Online Sport and Tackle.
Can I paddle to Spirit Island in one day?
Yes, you can, but it is a long day and I would only recommend it for someone who has paddled before. It will be a 28km day (phew) and that doesn’t account for weather, delays due to the cruise boats and then time for breaks. So if you plan to do it, start early!