Porters Lake is a 19-kilometer-long crescent-shaped lake east of Halifax. With its calm waters backdropped by forested hills, Porters Lake offers a tranquil and scenic experience for kayakers. The lake is partly surrounded by houses and cottages and, because of this, has become a popular spot for recreational boaters. Eagerly wanting to test our two new (to us) kayaks, we loaded them onto the car and headed out.
We originally planned to launch in the south near Lawrencetown Beach, but after having a hard time finding a launch point and with less protection from the wind because of the flatter topography, we settled on launching from the north side of the lake at the Myra Road Public Boat Launch.
The lake is a great place for an easy, quiet paddle. While the wind was forecasted to be from the west, we seemed to find ourselves in a constant battle against it as I made our way south. While Porters Lake is generally a safe paddle, there are a few obstacles to be mindful of. The most common of these is the presence of large, submerged rocks along the shoreline. Additionally, it is not uncommon to see trees and debris in the water, and careful attention should be paid to quickly changing wind conditions.
Paddling the lake is relatively uneventful. Not far from our launch, we paddled to a small island with a single cabin placed on top of it. From here, we explored the rocky shore before investigating a small cove on the opposite side of the lake. First, we noticed a small cabin peaking out of the forest, but we were quickly distracted by a floating dock in the middle of the cove, presumably used by boaters for swimming in the summer. With waters too cold for pleasurable swimming, we began the trek back, this time following the east side of the lake. After a quick snack on the remnants of an old wooden wharf, we made our way back to the car.
