With summer coming to end, the days are getting limited. Staying close to home is can be a great way to cross more things off of your summer bucket list – and makes it affordable, too.
Allan Beach Resort is one of those close-to-home beaches, with clean water (that even the seaweed fearing Mom will wade in, or float in) and it’s nice and cold – refreshing on those days when it’s nearing thirty degrees late in August and you’re searching for a place to cool off.
Just past Spruce Grove, we reached the beach in under forty minutes from Sherwood Park, paid the admission fee and enjoyed the beach. There’s There are limited snacks, drinks and slushies there ($8 for three slushies) – perfect if you wanted to pack light and not bring too much with you.
2019 Hours and Admission
Allan Beach 2019 Public Beach Day Use Current Hours: Monday to Friday 4PM-8PM Saturday, Sunday and Monday (long weekends) 10AM-8PM Admission: Adult 18+ $12.00 Child 7-17 $6.00 Children Under 6 FREE Annual Family Pass (2 Adults/2 Children) $350.00 Annual Day Use Pass Adult – Child (7-17) $150.00 – $85.00
There’s a good sized sandy area, plus a big grassy area if you’re not digging the sand (see what I did there?) We found space on the sand easily, close to the water to keep an eye on the kids, just after noon when we arrived on the weekend. Lots of people brought along tents and sun shades, it’s a great idea because there isn’t much shade at the resort.
We spent just over three hours at the beach, and it was the perfect amount of time for us, but you could easily spend the full day. Bring floats for parents and kids, and life jackets for young ones that aren’t able to swim confidently yet – the water drops off quite quickly and the roped off bouyed area isn’t super large – you’re going to want to bring the life jackets just to avoid running in the water to potentially rescue the kids if they quickly go over their heads.
Allan Beach is on a spring fed lake and one of the top rated lakes in Alberta, never having an issue with blue green algae, well worth the day rate for families searching for a way to get out of town, without going too far.
Allan Beach Resort is located in Stony Plain, on the left hand side when you’re leaving Edmonton, straight on the Yellowhead. Visit the website at www.allanbeach.com to learn more.