One of the most popular area, especially with photographers
The Belly of Abraham and the Abraham Slabs area are often the busiest places on the lake first thing in the morning with photographers looking to catch the sunrise.
This has long been one of the most popular areas on Abraham Lake for the ice bubbles given the short and easy access to the lake. It offers great views of Mount Michener and Elliott's Peak along with deeper stacks of bubbles in the turquoise ice.
In 2021 Alberta Environment built a new parking lot at the random camping area known as Abraham Slabs. Many visitors still choose to park along the highway instead of using the parking lot, be careful if you choose this option with traffic moving fast as they come around the corner.
It does get busy but with most visitors staying in the bay at Belly, there is plenty of room to spread out and enjoy the moment if you're willing to walk a little further.
At a Glance
- Activities: Ice walks, photography, sightseeing
- Time needed: Plan on at least 60 minutes
- Family-friendly: Yes
- Season: Late December to March
- Congestion: Moderate to Busy
- Management: Kiska / Wilson PLUZ
Trailhead: From Nordegg, the Abraham Slabs parking lot is approximately 40 km away travelling west on Highway 11. Coming from Saskatchewan Crossing it is approximately 50 km east on Highway 11. Parking and dry toilets are available.
Ice Safety
We've put together a guide with a few things to consider when you plan your Abraham Lake ice walk to make it a safe adventure.
Head Out With A Guide
All tours and activities bookings are handled by Explore Nordegg & Abraham Lake and tours like these are offered by local partners. Most bookings require a minimum of 2 days' notice, contact us for last-minute options.
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We all have our part to do to keep this place special. Planning ahead is key to ensuring that we all continue to enjoy adventures in the Nordegg & Abraham Lake region. These are a few of the things you can do to help:
- Minimize your impact by using existing sites, fire rings and toilets instead of creating your own.
- Know about current fire bans, make sure that your fire is completely out before you go and buy firewood instead of cutting down trees. Remember that shooting fireworks is not allowed in the region.
- Keep your site clean and your food stored inside your vehicle to help keep our wildlife wild. Always use bear-proof garbage bins.
- While alcohol is now permitted in some Alberta Parks day-use areas, none of those are in our region. Alcohol is only allowed at registered campsites.
- Be mindful of your neighbours and other visitors, including keeping noise to a minimum.
- Be prepared for adventures in a remote area. Explore within your skills to reduce the strain on our volunteer search and rescue team.
- Remember that cell service is limited. We recommend carrying a satellite communicator, like a Zoleo, on your adventures.
- Support local businesses and communities in Cline River, the Bighorn and Nordegg.
Information provided here may be inaccurate or outdated. Always make sure to obtain current information before going on your adventure.
Head Out On Your Own
Sometimes you just want to head out on your own to explore the area. We get it. Here’s our guide for Belly of Abraham and the Abraham Slabs area. You'll find our guides to other ice bubble locations on Abraham Lake here.
Accessing the Ice
There are a few options to access the lake in this area. A popular option is to park along the highway at Belly but we recommend using the new Abraham Slabs parking lot. From the parking lot, walk down through the random camping area to the lake.
Most winters you can drive down and park in the random camping area but make sure that your vehicle will make it back out before you venture down the road.
Ice Bubbles and Ice Features
This area is similar to the nearby Ice Bubbles Parking Lot and Hoodoo creek area with interesting features along the shoreline and amazing backdrops. We always find some great options from this access, especially if we walk a little further and spend some time exploring.
Safety Considerations
From a safety perspective, the access from the Abraham Slabs is one of the easiest in terms of mitigating risks. The slope is gentle with a gradual transition from shore to lake combined with no creek or rivers entering the lake.
The access from Belly is more challenging and we often see visitors take unnecessary risks in this area. The shoreline has a few gullies where the ice can easily break, increasing the risks of falls causing injuries. Once on the ice, the water source entering the bay from the west causes weak ice combined with an often hidden canyon with steep shores.
The gully
This gully became famous on social media a few years ago. The danger is easy to mitigate by simply walking around it.
The Gully Hidden by Snow
Blowing snow often makes it harder to see what lies underneath. Whenever possible, make sure to walk on ice and avoid snow covered areas.
The Water Source Area
The area where the water source enters the lake creates some amazing photo opportunities later in the season. Make sure to know where it is and approach the area cautiously.
The People
All the stories we share are by locals, whether they live here or love our region and contribute to making it an amazing place.
Contributors to this Story:
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Conditions and Updates
We share this information to help visitors to the area plan their trip. This represents the conditions we have observed at a specific point in time. Ice safety depends on many more factors than just ice conditions and anybody going on the ice should have the knowledge and experience required to assess the risks, or should consider going with a guide.
Abraham Lake Ice Conditions - December 28 2022
Abraham Lake Ice Conditions - December 27 2022
Abraham Lake Ice Conditions - December 24 2022
