Overview

Snowkite

Spray Lake is a mountain reservoir in Spray Valley Provincial Park, near Canmore and Kananaskis, at 1695 m altitude in the Canadian Rockies. It's one of the most spectacular snowkite spots in the world.

The frozen lake in winter offers an immense snow and ice surface framed by Rocky Mountain peaks. Valley winds and Chinooks are channeled by the Spray Valley, creating powerful and regular conditions. Exceptional alpine scenery. Season from December to March. Accessible from Canmore via the Smith-Dorrien Trail.

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Spot forecast for Spray Lake

Sunrise 08:13 · Sunset 18:38

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< 7 kn7–12 kn13–20 kn21–30 kn31–40 kn41+ kn Gusts Your minimum: 7 kn

Forecasts provided by Open-Meteo

Spray Lake: when to go?

Rideable days and hours computed for a minimum wind of 7 knots · log in to set your own (foil, twin-tip…)

Season · peak

105h

in December · 15 rideable days

The season runs from December to March, peaking in December: 11 rideable days a month and 105 hours of usable wind, at -2 °C. The low point is July, at 0 days.

Rideable days per month

Wind strength when it is rideable

7-12 knots · 85%13-20 knots · 15%

When the spot works, wind sits mostly between 7 and 12 knots — 85% of rideable hours. Big-kite territory. The coldest month is January, at -4 °C. The wettest month is June, with 66 mm. Snow depth peaks in December, at 24 cm.

Monthly averages: Spray Lake

Monthly averages — Spray Lake — averaged over 2 years of records — Weather data by Open-Meteo.com — How it is calculated
Month	Rideable days	Usable wind	Temperature	Rain
January	7.5	51 h	-4 °C	1 mm
February	8.5	62 h	-4 °C	15 mm
March	11.0	70 h	0 °C	14 mm
April	4.0	24 h	5 °C	26 mm
May	1.5	12 h	11 °C	38 mm
June	0.5	6 h	14 °C	66 mm
July	0.0	0 h	19 °C	34 mm
August	0.0	1 h	18 °C	47 mm
September	0.0	0 h	17 °C	7 mm
October	1.0	7 h	6 °C	26 mm
November	3.5	19 h	0 °C	21 mm
December	15.0	105 h	-1 °C	30 mm

Photo gallery of Spray Lake

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Technical details of Spray Lake spot

The spot works with winds from NNE, NE, SSW, SW, WSW.

Rideable Not rideable

Spot opening date

Spot opening date: Open all year round
Spot type: Freeride (Ski touring access)
Altitude: 1,695 m

Hazards

Extreme altitude (1695 m) — intense cold, frostbite risk. Powerful valley winds and gusts. Ice can be weakened by Chinooks. Mountain isolation — no services. Access road (Smith-Dorrien) difficult in winter. Avalanches possible on adjacent slopes. Cougar and bears possible outside hibernation.

Additional information

High mountain ice and snow surface. Snow often wind-packed. The NE-SW valley powerfully channels southwest winds. Long riding surface (lake is ~15 km). Sastrugi possible. Altitude 1695 m — dry, cold air.

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Bryant14.6 kmsource Environment Canada

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Additional stations

BOW VALLEY24.5 km

Readings reserved for Premium members
source Environment Canada
NAKISKA RIDGETOP9.1 km

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source Environment Canada

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Webcams near Spray Lake

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Nearby spots

All spots: Alberta

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Spray Lake snowkite spot