Park overview
Swan Lake Park is a small, picturesque, lakeshore park that offers boating and swimming. Visitors can also enjoy a grassy campground and day-use area along with a baseball diamonds and playground.
Advisories
Dates of operation
The park gate is open year-round
Current status:
Open
- Facility type
- Vehicle-accessible camping
- Number of campsites
- Reservable frontcountry sites: 16
- Vehicle-accessible sites: 44
- Main operating season
- 2023: May 11 to September 5
- Reservable dates
- 2023: May 19 to September 4
- Winter note
- Gate is closed when snow falls.
- Facility type
- Picnic areas
- Main operating season
- 2023: May 11 to September 5
- Reservable dates
- 2023: May 19 to September 4
Special notes
- Off-Road Vehicles (ORVs) are prohibited in this park. ORVs include ATVs, off-road motorcycles, snowmobiles and side-by-sides.
Camping
- Total number of campsites
- Total reservable frontcountry sites: 16
- Total vehicle-accessible sites: 44
- Total RV-accessible sites: 1
Campsite reservations are accepted and first come, first served sites are also available.
All campsite reservations must be made the BC Parks reservations system. When reservations are not available, all campsites function as first come, first served.
Campsite reservations are accepted and first come, first served sites are also available.
| Vehicle-accessible camping fee | $20 per party per night |
| BC seniors’ rate (day after Labour Day to June 14 only) | $10 per senior party per night |
For information on the BC seniors’ rate, see the camping fees page.
Facilities
Accessibility information is available for this park.
Cold water taps are located throughout the park. Taps are shut off during the off-season.
There are playground facilities at this park.
There is a boat launch and dock at Swan Lake Park that is open year-round. Be aware that during the camping season the gates are closed from 11 pm to 7 am, daily.
Campfires are allowed and campfire rings are provided at each campsite. We encourage visitors to conserve wood and protect the environment by minimizing the use of fire and using campstoves instead. Firewood can be purchased in the park or you may bring your own wood. Fees for firewood are set locally and may vary from park to park. Limited burning hours or campfire bans may be implemented.
To preserve vegetation and ground cover, please don’t gather firewood from the area around your campsite or elsewhere in the park (this is a ticketable offence under the Park Act). Dead wood is an important habitat element for many plants and animals and it adds organic matter to the soil.
This park has a day-use and picnic area. Reservations for the group site picnic area are available. Click here for reservation information.
There are pit toilets in the campground, and also in the day-use area.
Activities
There are developed trails at this park. For your own safety and preservation of the park, obey posted signs and keep to designated trails. Shortcutting trails destroy plant life and soil structure.
There are no lifeguards on duty.
Swan Lake provides excellent opportunities for canoeing and kayaking. Watch out for motorized boats. No rentals available in or near the park.
Swan Lake provides excellent opportunities for canoeing and kayaking. Watch out for motorized boats. No rentals available in or near the park.
Anglers can try their luck fishing for walleye, northern pike, yellow perch and burbot. The lake is too shallow and too warm to support cold water salmonid species such as trout and char.
Anyone fishing or angling in British Columbia must have an appropriate licence.
Pets and domestic animals must be on a leash at all times and are not allowed in beach areas or park buildings. You are responsible for their behaviour and must dispose of their excrement. Backcountry areas are not suitable for dogs or other pets due to the potential for problems with bears and other wildlife.
Bicycles must keep to roadways. Bicycle helmets are mandatory in British Columbia.
Please note that bicycles with electric assist motors (e-bikes) are not allowed on the trails within Swan Lake Park. E-bikes are restricted to park roads and areas where motorized use is permitted. The only exception to this policy will be for authorized and identified trail maintenance bikes conducting work on behalf of BC Parks.
There are waterskiing opportunities on the lake.
There are windsurfing opportunities on the lake.
There are scuba diving or snorkelling opportunities.
This park is located 35 km southeast of Dawson Creek, 2 km gravel access off Highway 2.
Park and activity maps
- Campground Map [PDF] (Dec. 5, 2018)
Learn more about this park
Park details
- Date established: June 19, 1918
- Size: 82 hectares
Park contact
This park proudly operated by:
Sandstorm North Contracting
For information concerning the vehicle-accessible campground:
sandstormnorth@gmail.com
Nature and culture
History
Established in 1918, it has the distinction of being British Columbia’s third oldest park.
Conservation
Swan Lake Park provides representation of the Kiskatinaw Plateau ecosection and is covered by the boreal white and black spruce biogeoclimatic zone. Vegetation consists predominately of trembling aspen, balsam poplar, white spruce and willows.
Swan Lake is the largest water body in the Alberta plateau. The maximum depth is 7.6 metres and the mean depth is 3.1 metres.
Wildlife
The occasional moose and white tail or mule deer may pass through the park. However, black bears do frequent the area. Muskrat and beaver can be seen around the lakeshore and the Tupper River which drains into the lake through the park.
If you are interested in bird watching, an abundance of waterfowl and migratory bird populations congregate at Swan Lake. An example of birds that frequent Swan Lake include common loon, red-necked grebe, western grebe, trumpeter swan, American widgeon, sandpipers, bufflehead, coot, gulls, eastern kingbird, warblers, blackbirds, killdeer, hooded merganser, red-eyed and warbling vireo, hermit thrush, swallows, yellowlegs, scoters, lesser scaup and goldeneyes, just to name a few.
Swan Lake is popular with local anglers. Sport fish include walleye, northern pike, yellow perch and burbot. Northern pike spawn in the spring among lakeshore weeds. Yellow perch, which have been stocked, are also weed spawners, but spawn later in spring. The lake is too shallow and too warm to support cold water salmonid species such as trout and char.
Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples
BC Parks honours Indigenous Peoples’ connection to the land and respects the importance of their diverse teachings, traditions, and practices within these territories. This park webpage may not adequately represent the full history of this park and the connection of Indigenous Peoples to this land. We are working in partnership with Indigenous Peoples to update our websites so that they better reflect the history and cultures of these special places.