Upper Kananaskis Lake

Upper Kananaskis Lake is the bigger of the two Kananaskis Lakes in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, about 90 km west of Calgary. It was a natural lake before TransAlta dammed it, and now it is a reservoir that stores water for power and for the Bow River below. Peaks rise straight off its shores, and the Upper Lake trail runs all the way around it. Alberta stocked westslope cutthroat trout here in 2025, 5,000 of them in June and 2,300 larger fish in September, and the regulations list rainbow trout too. The rules are strict: bait is banned, and you may keep only 1 trout, and only one over 50 cm (20"). Bull trout always go back.

Treat it as a cold, clear mountain reservoir. Shore anglers do best near the creek mouths and along the drop-offs within reach of the Upper Lake and North Interlakes day use areas. A boat or canoe opens up the islands around Hawke Island and the inlets at the west end, where the Upper Kananaskis River and Foch Creek come in. Strip a leech or a small streamer along the edges, or hang a nymph under an indicator off an inlet, and watch for rises on calm mornings and evenings. Powerboats are allowed but held to 12 km/h, so the lake stays quiet. The water within 100 m of the Rawson Creek inlet is closed from June 1 to July 15. The rest of the lake is open all year, and ice fishing is allowed.

Two things shape a trip. First, this is a working reservoir. TransAlta raises and lowers it through the year, so the shoreline you fished last time can look different, with more bare shore when the lake is low. Check the level tile before you go. Second, the wind. Mountain wind comes up fast, and the lake is big enough to build waves, so keep a small boat near shore. You need an Alberta licence and a WiN number, and a Kananaskis Conservation Pass to park. If the big lake is rough, Lower Kananaskis Lake is next door, under its own rules.