Kids Can Catch – Winagami Lake

Winagami Lake Provincial Park in the Peace Country of northwestern Alberta protects a 12,000-acre shallow lake and the surrounding wetland complex in the Lac Cardinal Plain, a landscape that the Alberta government has recognized for both its recreational value and its ecological significance as one of the largest waterbird nesting colonies in the province. The lake holds northern pike and walleye in a nutrient-dense shallow-water environment that produces fish at a density and average size that belies the lake’s modest profile in provincial fishing media. The Kids Can Catch event runs from early June through mid-July 2026, using the Winagami Lake Ramp as the launch point for a free structured youth fishing program that puts children on the water with the equipment, instruction, and supervision they need to have a successful first fishing experience.

The park’s day-use area surrounds the fishing event with infrastructure that makes the visit a complete family outing rather than a single-activity stop: a sandy beach for swimming and picnicking, a wading pool suitable for younger children, a playground, and approximately two kilometres of trails through the mixed boreal forest that borders the lake’s eastern and southern shorelines. The nesting bird colonies visible from the day-use area, particularly the western grebe, red-necked grebe, and American white pelican concentrations that use the lake’s marshy north end, are among the most accessible birding encounters in the Alberta Peace Country and provide an educational dimension to the visit that the fishing program itself amplifies in its approach to natural resource stewardship.

The Peace Country Setting

Winagami Lake sits within the Grande Prairie-Peace Country region, roughly 120 kilometres south of Grande Prairie on Highway 49 near the town of High Prairie. The Peace River, which defines this region’s northern boundary, supports a distinct riparian ecology and a canoe corridor through boreal forest that has been used for fur trade transport since the 18th century. The Dunvegan Provincial Park, 100 kilometres northwest of Winagami on Highway 2, preserves the site of the North West Company’s Dunvegan Post established in 1805, with historic buildings remaining and a suspension bridge across the Peace River providing a family-accessible connection between the riverside heritage site and the park’s campground. The drive between Winagami Lake and Dunvegan through the Peace River Lowlands passes through agricultural and boreal landscape that is among the most visually open in western Canada.

If You’re Going with Kids
The Alberta government’s Keep Alberta Wild program, which partners with Kids Can Catch events across the province, provides loaner fishing equipment for children who do not yet own their own gear. Confirm current equipment availability and any registration requirements with Alberta Parks or the local High Prairie organizers before your visit. Alberta resident and non-resident fishing licences are required for participants over the age specified in the current Alberta Sportfishing Regulation Summary; children below that age threshold may fish without a licence.