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Best Place to Swim: Candle Lake

Oct 1, 2014 | 9:18 PM

Candle Lake is a popular tourist destination point; it is a beautiful community and Provincial Park.

Candle Lake won for Best Lake, so naturally it also won for Best Place to Swim, and Best Place to Fish.

The community has a year-round population of approximately 700 people however throughout the year, especially during the summer months, that number fluctuates significantly.

“We have a great community spirit up here,” said Candle Lake Mayor John Quinn. “We have some of the best swimming beaches in Western Canada and during certain times of the year, have some great fishing as well.”

“We also have some beautiful scenery,” he added.

Candle Lake is home to seven kilometres of sandy beaches; the park has three main swimming areas, which include Minowukaw, Waskateena and Sandy Bay.  Waskateena is a great beach for families with young children since the lake remains shallow several yards out.

“The advantages of our beaches is we have a lot of sand, but another advantage of our lakes is they are a safe swimming environment,” said Quinn.

“There is no huge drop offs and our beaches are a good family area where you don’t need to worry about your kids getting into deep water in a short period of time.”

The locals and a large number of tourists that visit Candle Lake also take advantage of the parks great fishing opportunities. Candle Lake has a reputation for being a great place to catch both walleye and northern pike, however white fish, perch, and burbot are also caught at Candle Lake. 

“There is some pretty good-sized fish coming out of our lake,” said Quinn. “A lot of people like to go up and fish where fisher creek comes up into the lake.”

 “Especially in the fall and early spring,” he added.

On a rough water and windy day Musker Pond can also be great place to catch trout. The pond is stocked each year during the summer and is considered a barrier-free area.

Candle Lake offers more than 500 seasonal recreational vehicle sites and 300 provincial park sites.

To book a campsite at Candle Lake visit the Saskatchewan Provincial Parks Reservation System.

To learn more about the Resort Village of Candle Lake and any upcoming events click here. 

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