The most accessible location on Abraham Lake
The new parking lot and lake access lead you to one of the best spots for ice bubbles on Abraham Lake with the classic views of Mount Michener and Sentinel Mountain.
The area between Hoodoo Creek and Windy Point has long been a favourite of ours, with great ice bubbles and views. In 2021 Alberta Environment built a new parking lot for this area, making it much easier to access the ice bubbles.
This is where you will find the deeper stacks of bubbles and the turquoise ice, complete with Abraham Mountain, Windy Point Ridge, Kista Mountain, Mount Michener, Elliott's Peak and Sentinel Mountain as your backdrops.
It does get busy but there is plenty of room to spread out and enjoy the moment once you get on the ice.
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 Ice Bubbles parking lot is approximately 35 km away travelling west on Highway 11. Coming from Saskatchewan Crossing it is approximately 55 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 the Ice Bubbles parking lot and Hoodoo Creek 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 but the easiest is to park at the new Ice Bubbles parking lot instead of illegally parking on the side of the highway.
At the parking lot, the lake can easily be accessed by walking down the rocky shore, following the path that starts at the locked gates. Access to the lake is only 100 metres here, but the rocky shorelines and ice left on shore can make it challenging.
Ice Bubbles and Ice Features
This area is my favourite with clear ice, lots of interesting features along the shoreline and amazing backdrops. The best options change from week to week depending on conditions, but we always find some amazing options in this area. This is especially true if you're willing to walk a little further and spend some time exploring.
Safety Considerations
This area is fairly straightforward from an ice safety perspective. If you head out toward Windy Point, avoid the area where a stream enters the lake and the island. The cliff edge of the island is not always visible, and the ice there breaks easily.
If you're heading in the other direction, toward Hoodoo Creek, keep an eye for another stream entering the lake and the pressure ridge that often forms in that area. You'll be able to identify the pressure ridge from the wide white line going across the lake, with broken ice pointing up.
Pressure Ridges
Ridges like this happen when the pressure on the ice sheet builds up, causing one sheet to slide over the other. The ice around pressure ridges is weak and should be avoided.
Broken Ice on Shore
Most incidents on Abraham Lake happen on the shore. Watch for broken ice over rocks that create a fall hazard.
Steep Shorelines
Avoid areas, like along this island between the access and Windy Point where the shoreline is steep.
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
