The Outaouais region is home to so many options for places to paddle. With many thousands of lakes, you can easily find a great location to escape the city and disconnect. Whether it be for a paddle board session, a kayaking trip or a canoeing adventure, you must consider visiting the majestic Lake Edja. Located in the Vallée-de-la-Gatineau County of the Outaouais, in the town of Blue Sea (Quebec), Lake Edja is known for its turquoise-green water, breathtaking underwater rock formations, and clear water. It truly is a paddler’s paradise.
With such an amazing destination, comes many questions: where can I access the lake? Must I wash my equipment beforehand? Where should I explore once on the lake? Is there parking? Any rules to follow on the lake? Here, I will not only answer all your questions, but also try to make your first visit to Lake Edja a success.
Getting to Lake Edja and Necessary Procedures
Before even getting to lake Edja, you must first wash your equipment (motorized and non-motorized) in Blue Sea. The washing station is located at 10 rue Principale in Blue Sea (Quebec) at the end of the parking lot next to the fire station. For non-motorized equipment, including paddle boards, kayaks, and canoes, it’s free to use the washing station. For boats, there’s a fee. You must wash your equipment here in order to receive a receipt to prove you indeed washed your equipment. The certificate of wash must be clearly placed on your vehicle dashboard once at the lake (penalty of 300$ for non-respect).
The parking and water access to Lake Edja are located at the end of Chemin du Lac Edja Ouest in front of the boat ramp. Parking is extremely limited. It is important to get there early, especially on the weekends. If the parking is full, you can park on the side of the road, but make sure to be respectful the nearby residents and not to block the road. There is a free toilet located in the parking area. Access to the lake itself is free.
Once on the Water
While Lake Edja is not a big lake, I do recommend heading left once on the water. From the boat ramp, you will fist reach a part of the lake that is very shallow and sandy. This section separates the lake in two and can be walked.
Afterwards, continue heading left while following the shoreline. You should already start to see beautiful rocks in the water and take in the beautiful colour of the lake. In the middle of the Baie, you will see some yellow buoys. You must not go close to the buoys in order to avoid propagating algae and weeds that are bad for health of the lake. You can still admire from a distance the beautiful underwater rock formation in the middle of the lake. You might even forget you are in Canada and think you are in the Caribbean.
Continue following the shoreline to appreciate the beauty of the lake. If you look down, you might even see an underwater boat wreck. Where? Look for an abandoned wooden boathouse on the shoreline.
After Your Day on the Water
Once you are back in the parking area, I do recommend you head back to the washing station in order to wash your equipment in order to avoid transporting unwanted microbes to other lakes. Make sure to pick up your trash and leave no traces of your passage. Don’t forget, access to this lake is a privilege and it depends on the respect of the lake’s residents.
I hope all this information will help you appreciate one of the most beautiful lakes to paddle near Gatineau and Ottawa. Enjoy your time there and always make sure to always have necessary safety equipment with you on the water, like a life vest and a whistle. For more locations to paddle in the Outaouais region, visit my recent blog post where I present 10 places to paddle near Ottawa and Gatineau.
