The Nordegg area of Alberta got really popular a few years back when photos of the now famous frozen bubbles of Abraham Lake (near Nordegg) went viral. I first blogged about visiting the area in 2017, then did a blog update (with better photos lol) in 2019. I also featured Abraham Lake in this 2022 Travel Alberta video I did about Rockies Heli tour experiences.
- Read my Travel Guide to Exploring Alberta’s Famous Bubble Lake – Abraham Lake (2019)
- Watch my Rockies Heli Tour Video featuring Abraham Lake (2022)
Nordegg is a hamlet located in David Thompson Country, a region in West Central Alberta that also includes Rocky Mountain House, Caroline, Clearwater County. This area is considered the “lesser-known Rockies”—much less path less travelled than you’d find in Banff or Jasper area.
For our very first road trip / mountain getaway / vacation as new parents in June 2023, we decided to head to the Nordegg area, which is a three-hour drive from both Edmonton and Calgary. It’s definitely do-able as a day trip, which is how I’ve experienced the area previously—I had never actually *stayed* in the Nordegg area before—until now (June 2023!)
If you’re planning to Explore Alberta, use this travel guide for suggestions on Easy Adventures in the Nordegg / David Thompson Country area.
Travel Guide: Easy Adventures in the Nordegg, Alberta area (Canadian Rocky Mountains / David Thompson Country)
Where we stayed: Beehive Bungalows
One of the reasons we decided to do a Nordegg, Alberta area getaway is because we wanted to check out the super cute Beehive Bungalows. These colourful bungalows were built in 2022, right in the hamlet of Nordegg, making it an excellent little home base for your adventures in the area. We were gifted a stay at Beehive Bungalows for this visit and had a wonderful time.
This is such a cute place to stay!!! And it’s owned by such a nice family (The Beehive Family). The sisters manage the property and the nearby Beehive Artisans Market, and the bungalows themselves were built by the brother and dad.
You can choose from four different bungalows (they’re basically all the same just the exterior colour is different, obviously I chose yellow). The bungalows have high ceilings and a loft sleeping area, main floor bedroom, bath (with heated floors!), kitchen/dining and living space with couch, chairs and wood stove. There’s also a little front deck with table and chairs and a communal fire pit and BBQ for use between the bungalows. We ate in for our two nights there (brought ingredients for taco and vermicelli night, plus a charcuterie lunch).
The bungalows are great for families or a friend group. Pets are also welcome!
Watch my Instagram Reel video featuring Beehive Bungalows:
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Beehive Bungalows was a lovely little home base for our hikes and lake activities in the Nordegg area. As mentioned, the beautiful Abraham Lake is super close (teal water in the summer, cool bubbles in the winter), as well as many smaller recreational lakes, waterfalls and hiking trails for all experience levels as part of David Thompson Country (more on that below!!)
Mention code LINDORK2023 to get 10% off your stay at Beehive Bungalows if you book this season.
Thank you Beehive Bungalows for hosting our stay!
If you’ve read my other travel guides and have followed some of my past adventures, you may know that I’m not a super intense hiker or adventurer, lol and I’m not ashamed of that!
I love adventures but I also like them pretty easy lol.
With a baby in tow this time around, I especially wanted ‘easy adventures’ that still offered stunning views. Thankfully we went on this trip with our seasoned adventure friends who were great at selecting some pretty Linda-friendly experiences for us.
Turns out ‘Linda-friendly’ adventures are also baby-friendly—in that you can find a lot of short / quick, easy, family-friendly, and Instagrammable hikes and things to do in the Nordegg, Alberta / David Thompson Country area.
Whitegoat Falls
The Nordegg region is home to a lot of popular waterfall hikes, including Whitegoat Falls.
This is an approximately 3.4 km (total distance there and back) hike along Abraham Lake, considered moderately easy and family-friendly / all ages (though not stroller accessible, you’d have to carry baby or kids need to walk themselves).
The trail is mostly forested and starts with an incline up, evens out, then you take a left turn that will take you to the falls (there’s a little rock formation marker / look for a sign in the trees). Then there is a steep descent that is a bit tricky but just take it slow, use trees/rocks for support. After the steep descent you will have to cross the creek over a log—that also has log handrails. It’s a pretty sturdy log but even if you lose your footing the water / creek is shallow enough to just stand up in so at most you’d just get your shoes wet.
I wore my Keen adventure sandals (I tend to) for this adventure because I knew we were going to a waterfall so it’s great for water experiences and not worrying about shoes getting wet.
The waterfall is a ‘punchbowl’ style, and you can stand or even swim under it! (when I say swim I mean dip yourself in but it’s a pretty small area and would not be much room for swimming if other people were in there too lol).
When we hiked on a Friday morning in early June, it was empty! We had the whole trail and waterfall area to ourselves. I did a similar waterfall hike in Kananaskis (Cat Creek) a year before and it was much much busier compared to Whitegoat Falls (which makes sense generally, Kananaskis, Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper-areas I would say tend to be more visited).
We didn’t swim this time around (it was a bit chilly—I wonder if it would be a little warmer later in the summer) but I do plan to return when our baby is bigger and can splish splash around himself as we commemorate the first hike/waterfall we ever took him to!
The trailhead for Whitegoat Falls is located about 45 km south west of Nordegg, starting at the Cline River Waste Transfer Station. On Google, search Cline Transfer Station, or some people put in ‘Vision Quest’ in Google to get to the same starting point.
There is lots of parking here, but no washroom. And there is no cell service!
All in all, an awesome, quick hike with a nice waterfall reward at the end.
Shunda Lake
During our Nordegg visit we headed over to Shunda Lake (also referred to as Fish Lake on Google Maps), in Fish Lake Provincial Recreation Area and Campground.
This is a really nice lake located just 6 km west of Nordegg, with lots of picnic tables and multiple easy access to the water. Turn in to access the lake parking lot when you see the ‘day use’ sign.
My adventure friends have inflatable rafts so we were able to head out onto the water with them for our first water adventure of the season. The lake is also swimmable so we went for a dip too!
I could see this being a really nice spot to spend an entire day really—set up at a picnic table by the water and splash around in between outdoor eats or water craft adventures.
There is also a Shunda Lake Trail if you wanted to hike around the lake.
Abraham Lake Trail
The most popular lake in the Nordegg area is Abraham Lake (also known as the ‘Bubble Lake’ in the winter), a lake that is probably one of the most photographed lakes (during winter) in the province if not the country. Typically, Abraham Lake is VERY windy (year-round), so not a ton of activity is recommended ON the water during the summer (and if you go walking or skating during winter—expect to be blown away lol).
Fun fact: Abraham Lake is actually fed by the North Saskatchewan River which runs through Edmonton!
Abraham Lake Trail Access
Turn south off Highway 11 onto the Bighorn Dam road, located 23 km south of Nordegg, or 60 km north of the Banff National Park boundary. At 3.8 km from the highway, there is a road to your right. Drive 800 m down this road to the parking area. The trailhead is at the west end of the parking lot.
This is a 1.1 km “easy stroll” along the lake.
When we went, the water was very low—we ended up walking along rocks and sand that would normally be covered with water!
In general, you’ll find a lot of different areas along Abraham Lake you can pull up to for photos!
Beehive Artisans Market & The Miner’s Cafe (Nordegg)
As mentioned, the Beehive Family also runs the Beehive Artisans Market in Nordegg, a super cute store filled with handmade gifts, fresh produce, meats, cheeses, local books, souvenirs and more. I picked up a few Rocky Mountain-themed kids books and an Abraham Lake ‘bubble’-inspired handmade soap and toque during my visit.
Next door you’ll find The Nordegg Miners’ Cafe, famous for their homemade deep dish pies you can get by the slice or frozen to take home, plus soups, sandwiches, salads, and breakfast items. There aren’t really a lot of food options on Nordegg and Miners’ Cafe is one of them so if you’re in the area, it’s very likely you’ll stop here for a great meal (and great pie!)
While we’re talking about food, we also packed items to have charcuterie lunch during our getaway, and I also really enjoyed our meal at Bang’s Bistro (Japanese) during our quick stop in Rocky Mountain House located about an hour before you hit Nordegg.
There aren’t a ton of restaurants in the Nordegg area itself so it’s quite common to plan a bite in Rocky Mountain House before or after your Nordegg area adventures—and bring your own food to cook depending on where you’re staying / camping.
Find more ideas for things to do in the Nordegg, Alberta area!
As the title of this blog post suggests, the experiences I’ve listed here are pretty easy, but there is no shortage of adventures to do in David Thompson Country and the Nordegg area that satisfy a range of hiking experience / difficulty levels.
- Check out the hikes and walks listing on Explore Nordegg’s website
- Check out trailheads on David Thompson Country’s website
- Check out the hikes and trails listing on AllTrails
A longer hike we hope to get to next is Siffleur Falls, which is very popular, so expect much more congestion/people during your hike unless you go during the week.
And something you can do if you’re unsure about tackling these hikes or adventures on your own (I like to say, if you don’t have experienced adventure friends to confidently adventure with you) is to consider booking guided tours. There are many to choose from in this area!
And here’s a few extra tips and information specifically for travelling with a baby!
- We used a Baby Bjorn carrier, a soother with clip attached to the carrier, hiking backpack packed with diapers, wipes, a bottle of pumped breast milk (with ice pack), and dressed him in a long sleeve onesie that covered up his arms and legs + toque (outfit to ensure his skin wasn’t exposed to sun for too long or he didn’t get too cold), as well as an extra lighter sleeveless onesie as backup, plus baby swaddle/blanket for our hike(s).
- I breastpump to bottle exclusively so when travelling I bring along a bunch of bottles and my breastpump + pumping bra. I also brought along some of our bottle cleaning supplies, and bags (ziplock or reusable) for storage.
- We try to keep to the same wake and sleep schedule on travel days as we would if we were just at home! At this age, his naps and feeds during the day are still pretty flexible so as long as the wake-up and bed-time are. consistent we found that travelling with baby was just like a regular day at home (just with more outside adventure / activity!)
I’ll be sharing more about travelling with a baby in an upcoming Cityline TV segment and standalone blog post—so stay tuned for that!
I hope you have tons of fun visiting David Thompson Country and Nordegg, Alberta!
Remember if you mention code LINDORK2023 you can get 10% off your stay at Beehive Bungalows if you book this season (2023).
Thanks again to Beehive Bungalows for hosting our stay.
Linda
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