Lloyd Lake

BOU AVENUE
Lloyd Lake

Taking advantage of recent new snowfall, Zosia Zgolak and I did a ski tour of Lloyd Lake located southwest of Calgary, Alberta on 9 December 2023. Formerly known as Red Deer Lake, Lloyd Lake is quite shallow and largely choked by aquatic vegetation, but it is also a haven for countless waterfowl as well as other wildlife including deer and coyotes. The lake is mostly surrounded by private land, but public access is possible via Lloyd Park where Zosia and I often go to play disc golf. Zosia had previously tried in the spring or summer to circumnavigate the lake on foot, but marshy shores and the lack of a good trail make this impractical if not impossible. With the lake frozen though, we figured that travel would be much simpler especially with light touring skis and a modest amount of snow cover.

From Highway 22X, turn south onto 112 Street about 3.2 kilometres west of the interchange with Highway 201 (Stoney Trail) or 9.7 kilometres east of the junction with Highway 22 (Cowboy Trail). Drive 1.4 kilometres and turn left through an automated gate (passcode required) into the parking lot for Lloyd Park which is only open during daytime hours. Note that parking in the turnaround at the south end of 112 Street past the gate (outside the park) is prohibited. A daily or annual pass is required for entry into Lloyd Park; both are available for purchase from the last house on the left before the gate (look for signs).

Starting from the parking lot in Lloyd Park, Zosia and I skied southward past a picnic area to reach frozen Lloyd Lake. Roughly following the shore line, we made a counter-clockwise circumnavigation of the lake. The west and east sides of the lake both have conveniently open corridors which were very easy to ski. The south side of the lake is more choked with bushy reeds, and we had to do a bit more route-finding there to maintain our progress. This reminded me of navigating through a low hedge maze where I could often see a clear path far ahead but had to figure out a way to get through the intervening vegetation. Occasionally, we had to plow through the reeds which would often entangle our skis. Thankfully, these bushwhacks were short-lived, and it was never too difficult to break free of the reeds. The best thing about our ski tour was the fact that there was hardly a breath of wind which made the cold temperatures that day more tolerable. When we had nearly completed the circumnavigation, we left the lake prematurely and skied a shorter loop through the disc golf course at Lloyd Park. This detour entailed a few small ups and downs to add a little excitement to our ski tour, but more interestingly, it provided us with a slightly different perspective of the disc golf course we have come to know so well. Had the weather been a little warmer, we may have considered playing a round after returning to our car, but instead, we simply packed up our ski gear and drove home.

Zosia heads past the picnic area at Lloyd Park toward Lloyd Lake.

Hope it's like this the whole way around (it's not)!

Zosia finds a convenient bush-free corridor along the north shore of Lloyd Lake.

	The sun is ringed with a halo on this day.
	Despite the absence of waterfowl that usually populate Lloyd Lake during the summer, there is still an abundance of wildlife that frequent the area as evidenced by the many tracks in the snow.
	A lot of Lloyd Lake is choked by thick aquatic vegetation.
	Zosia slips through one of the thicker clumps of lake vegetation.
	Sonny and Zosia take a selfie at the south end of Lloyd Lake.
	After navigating through a maze of vegetation at the south end of the lake, Zosia finds another bush-free corridor along the east shore.
	Zosia takes a short detour to check out the remnants of an abandoned truck along the east shore.
	A coyote watches warily from a fence along the northeast shore of the lake. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Zosia leaves the lake near the eastern fence line of Lloyd Park.
	Zosia enters the disc golf course at Lloyd Park. This is the basket for Hole 4.
	Zosia and Sonny stop at the tee box for Hole 9 which is near the highest point (1143 metres) of Lloyd Park. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Zosia passes the basket for Hole 17.
	Hole 18's basket is the end of both the disc golf course and the ski tour.
	Total Distance: 7.5 kilometres Round-Trip Time: 3 hours 1 minute Net Elevation Gain: 13 metres GPX Data