Beach Activities & Water Sports

The beach and what to do on it

The public beach runs along Lakeshore Drive from 52 Street to 34 Street, about an hour to walk end to end, and it is free. The shallowest, most family-friendly water is near Lakeshore Drive and 50 Street, with more sand down the beach near 44 Street, and a 1.6-kilometre lit boardwalk connects the beaches, Centennial Park, the shops and the lighthouse. The beach is unsupervised, so bring life jackets for kids. Full details and sources are in our Local's Guide beach section.

On the water, Sylvan Lake Aqua Splash at 5104 Lakeshore Drive is the floating inflatable park anchored off the main beach, with slides, a trampoline, a climbing tower and obstacles; lifeguards and life jackets are included, and per the guide it typically runs late June to early September with a minimum age of 6 and minimum height of 3 feet 6 inches. Next door, Sun Sport Recreation has rented paddleboards, kayaks and pedal boats from the lakefront since 1998 (and ice-fishing huts and snowshoes in winter). Nomads (Shop Nomads) rents stand-up paddleboards with board, paddle and leash included, and Lake Fun Zone Ltd. runs water balls and pedal boats on the waterfront.

Prefer sail power? The Sylvan Lake Sailing Club at Marina Bay runs Wednesday-night racing, pursuit races and regattas through the season, and Sylvan Lake Sailing Excursions offers guided daily sailing trips from Norglenwold with optional hands-on instruction. Adventure Ice Fishing (summer charters) covers pontoon fishing charters and cruises. For powerboats and Sea-Doos, see boat rentals and charters.