Abraham Lake

About Abraham Lake

Abraham Lake is a long, narrow reservoir on the North Saskatchewan River in Alberta's front ranges, created when the Bighorn Dam was completed in the early 1970s. It lies along the David Thompson Highway, between the foothills town of Nordegg and the Icefields Parkway. Glacial silt gives the water a turquoise color in summer, and steady winds sweep down the valley.

The lake is best known for its winter scenery. When the surface freezes, gases rising from decomposing plants on the lakebed are trapped in layers of clear ice, creating stacked white bubbles that draw photographers. Windy Point and other pullouts along the Abraham Lake shoreline are popular for viewing them, though thin or broken ice is a real risk. In summer, the Bighorn Dam area and the open Kootenay Plains offer hiking and wildflowers, and a trail leads to Siffleur Falls. North of Nordegg, Crescent Falls drops in two tiers into a canyon, and the Brazeau Collieries Historic Mine Site preserves a former coal-mining operation. Ram Falls is another scenic stop on the Forestry Trunk Road.

Services along the highway are limited and the weather shifts quickly, so self-sufficient travelers do best here. Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site adds fur-trade history to the east, while Saskatchewan River Crossing links the route to Banff and Jasper.