KANANASKIS COUNTRY - Canadian Rockies: Including Banff and Jasper National Parks - page 202

Barrier Lake and Vicinity
South from Canoe Meadows, stop at the Barrier Lake Visitor Information Centre (403/
673-3985, 9am-6pm daily in summer, 9am-4pm daily the rest of the year) for park inform-
ation and to browse the small selection of topics. Nestled between Highway 40 and the
Kananaskis River, riverside trails lead in both directions, including two kilometers (1.2
miles) downstream to Canoe Meadows. Across the road is Tim Horton's Children's Ranch,
set up to help underprivileged kids enjoy summer camp.
The first main body of water Highway 40 passes is Barrier Lake, dominated to the
south by the impressive peak of Mount Baldy (2,212 meters/7,257 feet). The lake is man-
made but still a picture of beauty. From a picnic area at its northern end, an official trail
leads across the dam, but just as enjoyable is to walk along the southern lakeshore below
the highway. Along its length are stretches of sandy beach, small streams, piles of drift-
wood, and at the end of the lake a massive scree slope that disappears into the lake.
Opposite Barrier Lake is the Biogeosciences Institute, a University of Calgary forestry
research station that has been in use since the 1930s. A cabin from this early era still stands,
along with a guard's tower put in place during World War II when the facility was used as
an internment camp. The cabin is also the starting point for the Forestry Management In-
terpretive Trail, comprising two interconnected loops that describe the forest and forestry
practices.
South to Kananaskis Village and Beyond
After passing a second, lesser-used picnic area at the south end of Barrier Lake, Highway
40 continues south around the base of Mount Baldy and crosses Wasootch Creek and
another picnic area. The next stop of interest, especially for anglers, is Mount Lorette
Ponds, a string of five shallow lakes stocked annually with rainbow trout. Originally an
oxbow in the Kananaskis River, these lakes were artificially deepened when the construc-
tion of Highway 40 cut them off from the main flow of the Kananaskis River. Paved paths
lead to and around the ponds, passing quiet picnic spots and wheelchair-accessible fishing
platforms.