Edmonton 
Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park takes up a small portion of the lake’s expansive shores.
Credit: Amanda Frank/ Unsplash
The park is on the northeast edge of Lesser Slave Lake, with five convenient and year-round day-use areas. The large lake is alive with activity all year with several swimmers, boaters, and fishers occupying the water in the summer months.
And in the winter, the frozen surface of Lesser Slave Lake is alive with snowmobilers, snowshoers, and ice fishers. You won’t find camping available here over the winter, but Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park offers several other fun reasons to plan a winter day trip, adventure, or picnic.
Birdwatching around the Boreal Centre for Bird Conservation
The Boreal Centre for Bird Conservation day use area is open year-round, and is in a conveniently central location of Lesser Slave Lake PP. From here you can choose from 10+km of trails. Bird watching around Lesser Slave Lake reveals a widely diverse population of birds any time of year, and the birds you spot will depend on the season. The Park also has permanent year-round bird residents. These include the ruffed grouse and spruce grouse, northern goshawks, a few types of chickadees, and the boreal, great grey, great horned, snowy, northern pygmy, and barred owls!
Cross-country skiing from the Devonshire Day Use Area
The park’s southernmost day use area, Devonshire, make a good starting point for cross country skiers with its amenities, access to trails, and parking availability. The day use area has a winterized warmup shelter with cook stove, washrooms, and additional picnic areas. And from here, you can head north up the Whispering Sands Trail toward the North Shore Ski Loops. Your adventure doesn’t have to end here, either, as the Provincial Park boasts over 18km of groomed trails; these trails continue north to Marten River Campground.
Snowshoeing around the Marten Mountain Viewpoint
The Marten Mountain Viewpoint is in a heavily forested area of the Provincial Park. The area is also at a high enough of an elevation that you can see over the treetops and out onto Lesser Slave Lake. The Marten Mountain Road provides ~6km of snowshoeing trail, and the nearby Jack Pine trail offers an easier 1.8km of snowshoeing trails.
Ice fishing on Lesser Slave Lake
You can plan an ice fishing trip to Lesser Slave Lake whether you have fishing equipment, or are trying the sport for the first time. Slave Lake attracts ice fishers thanks to the area’s peaceful and beautiful scenery and the sheer quiet of being in the middle of the ice. If ice fishing is something you’d like to try out, then this is one of the best lakes you could pick in Alberta. The local Pinto Rentals can outfit you and your group with a hut, drilled hole in the ice, and the necessary gear.
Snowmobiling on Lesser Slave Lake
Satisfy your need for speed with the wide-open ice of Lesser Slave Slake and the lake’s permitted snowmobiling. There are seemingly endless areas to explore as you follow the long shoreline of the lake. Plus, snowmobiling on the lake can be a convenient way to reach your ice fishing location or hut. Please keep in mind that snowmobiling is only permitted on the lake, and you can’t snowmobile anywhere else in the park.
Planning your trip to Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park
What: Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park is in a diverse section of the boreal forest on the northeast shore of Lesser Slave Lake. The forest contains a wide variety of tree types, which creates a diverse population of wildlife. The park is home to the Boreal Centre for Bird Conservation and is considered an Important Bird Area by Ducks Unlimited Canada. Birdwatching is a popular year-round activity in Lesser Slave Lake, while the park boasts several winter, spring, summer, and fall recreation.
Best time to go: all day use areas are open year-round
Camping May-October
How to get there: 5 to 10-minutes north from the town of Slave Lake on Highway AB-88
