The Ice Bubbles of Abraham Lake: How to Actually See Them

Abraham Lake is a reservoir on the North Saskatchewan River, west of Nordegg on the David Thompson Highway. Vegetation on the lake bed releases methane, the gas rises, and in the right conditions it freezes into stacked white discs suspended under metres of clear ice. Photographs of it have gone around the world. Actually seeing it takes some planning.

The window

Roughly January to early March, and narrower than that in practice. You need three things at once:

1. Ice thick enough to walk on safely.
2. Clear ice, which means a hard freeze with little snowfall on top.
3. Wind, which is the thing nobody expects. Abraham is famously windy, and the wind is what scours snow off the ice and makes the bubbles visible at all.

A big snowfall covers the show for weeks. A warm spell ruins the surface. This is a trip to keep flexible.

Where to go

The bubbles are not evenly spread. The most consistent areas are around Preacher's Point, the Hoodoo Creek area and along the Kootenay Plains. Pullouts on Highway 11 give access to the shoreline.

Safety, which is the whole story

This is a reservoir. The level is managed and changes through the winter, which means ice can be strong in one place and unsupported in another, with air beneath it. Cracks that sound alarming are often normal thermal cracks; that does not make judging them easy.

• Do not go out alone.
• Stay near shore unless you know the ice, or you are with somebody who does.
• Cleats are essential. Clear ice with wind polish is close to frictionless.
• There is no cell coverage for much of the highway. Tell somebody your plan.
• If you have any doubt, hire a local guide. Several operate out of Nordegg and Rocky Mountain House.

The drive

Calgary to Abraham Lake is about three hours, north on Highway 22 or the Cowboy Trail and west on Highway 11 from Rocky Mountain House. It is remote: fuel at Nordegg, no reliable services beyond it, and winter conditions the whole way.

Combined with a short day and the fact that the best light is at either end of it, the driving is the demanding part of the trip.

Photography notes

A wide lens, a polariser to cut surface reflection, and something to kneel on. The bubbles read best low and close with the mountains behind. Sunrise and the hour before sunset are the light worth the drive.

If you would rather be driven

We run day trips to Abraham Lake through the bubble season from Calgary, with an early departure for first light and a return whenever the light gives out. Fixed rate, winter tires, and a driver who watches the conditions before you commit to the date.