Lac La Biche Vibes

Do you thrive on staying active with your family? Make Lac La Biche your next summer destination, a classic choice for active Canadian experiences amid prime boreal landscapes. Hike an island in Sir Winston Churchill Park. Glide along Alberta’s only backcountry paddling route in Lakeland Provincial Park. Take in the stars, shooting or otherwise, within a designated Dark Sky Preserve.

Go

Load up the car and head north on highways 28 and 36 in northeastern Alberta, to take in the outdoors, get buzzy with bees, make tracks at Sir Winston Churchill Park, or paddle a canoe circuit at Lakeland Provincial Park.

Eat

You’ll need nourishment! Before you head out for adventure, sit down at Costa Café Seafood & Steakhouse for delicious specials. Smoked Salmon & Avocado Bagel Sandwich with ham and dill pickle soup will fuel you up. Eggs Royale are best devoured with an exquisite latte. With luck, you’ll be there when the occasional Lamb Rogan Josh shows up on the menu.

For later, stock up at The Café on Main with snacks to go. Kids will love the “to die for” caramel pecan bars or other baked cupcakes, cookies and treats.

Do

Paddle Four Lakes or Hike an Island

Experienced paddlers will want to take in Alberta’s only backcountry canoe circuit in Lakeland Provincial Park. Rent a canoe in Lac La Biche if you don’t have your own, then drive to the Jackson Lake Staging Area, 30 minutes east of Lac La Biche. From launch to portage to take out, marvel at calm unspoiled lakes and night skies over a three day 38 km paddle—plus 12 km of portaging—across Jackson, Kinnaird, Blackett and McGuffin lakes. Wilderness sites normally include composting toilets, firepits, picnic tables and bear lockers. Bonus: canoe carts at each portage!

Hikers? Head to Sir Winston Churchill Park. The kids will get a kick out of hiking an island! Accessible by causeway, hikes run from 1.2 to 6 kms. Other kicks for kids will be bird spotting in this renowned bird watching area.

See

Look up in a Dark Sky Preserve!

Remember to look up! Watch the northern lights and intro the kids to shooting stars once you’re off the lakes and canoe camping. Otherwise, borrow a telescope from Stuart MacPherson Public Library in the Bold Center and zip out to Pinehurst Lake Day Use Area at Lakeland Provincial Park. You’ll have panoramic views in three directions at one of very few Dark Sky Preserves in Alberta. The kids will love cozying up in warm sleeping bags in their own portable picnic chairs or lying on the ground, eyes skyward.

Make extra time:

Christy Creek Honey Get buzzy with bees. Don a full-body bee suit and take an up-close-and-personal look inside working beehives. The suit is great for both safety and selfies. See how homemade honey is harvested and discover the secret lives of honeybees.

Art of the Indigenous Group of Seven - The Museum of Aboriginal Peoples’ Art & Artifacts, Portage College is home to nearly 2,000 Indigenous art pieces, including the world’s only permanent collection of work of the Indigenous Group of Seven. On weekdays only, take a self-guided exploration of the First Nations, Métis and Inuit art displays, or call to arrange a guided tour.

Summer pow wows in Beaver Lake Cree Nation and Heart Lake First Nation

Sir Winston Churchill Park - Music in the Forest has a series of musical performances in the park

Plamondon Mud Bogs – a summer festival of trucks, slo-pitch, mud and music