Fisher Lakes Rockwood Park Saint John, NB

 

Fisher Lakes is another sweet swimming spot in Rockwood Park.  You can enter the water at just about any place you want.  Avoid any of the algae areas.  

There are a few small coves to serve as semi-private beaches.

A road along the north side is lined with monuments to all of the provinces and territories. 

Lots of people like to just sit quietly and feed the ducks but it's a bad idea. Killing animals with kindness. They delay their migration or hibernation as long as the food keeps coming and can't survive the winter.

Long Lake: Rockwood Park Trails

 This is one of the Rockwood Park trails that takes no time to get to but feels like the middle of nowhere.

The was my first time seeing a pack raft.  This man arrived with everything he needed in a moderate sized backpack.  The blue bag in his hands is for inflation.  I have been looking into inflatable kayaks and such since and these lovely water craft are the most portable thing on the market, sturdy and much lighter than kayaks.

I bypassed the Long Lake trail at first to see what was ahead on the main drag.  This is a short detour to Little Harrison Lake. 

This was such a Canadian scene.  Someone left a hockey net and their skates behind from last winter, to be ready to play as soon the lake freezes.  

Hopefully, this cyclist will be back soon and find his hat.

I was closer to the end than I realized when it started to rain just when I discovered this shelter in what felt like the middle of nowhere. 

There's another mountain bike race track here.

A wood log bench in memory of Duke.

And his water dish.  Someone loved this animal very much.

Frying Pan Lake: Rockwood Park trails

Right in the city center, Rockwood Park has 55 km of trails, perfect for those days you just don't feel up to cycling an hour or 2 outside of town before beginning your hike.   

With only 1 km (in and out) Frying Pan Lake is ideal for late in the afternoon.  With a minimal sense of direction, nobody is likely to get lost in the park for long but I prefer to avoid stumbling around rocks and roots in the dark and make it a point to be out before sundown. 

Like most trails in the park, Frying Pan Lake is geared for cyclists as well as hikers.  Curves and twists are banked to help keep cyclists on their saddles.  I love my bike but it really isn't designed for that kind of jumping horseplay and neither am I.  It will be there when I return.

Peeks at the lake are sporadic.

That is the 0.5 km point where the trail ends.  You can retrace your steps or just continue along the right where it connects to the Corduroy trail for a 1 km loop.

Corduroy trail

Here we are back on the main drag.  I remember blowing bubbles here one day to see far they could make it across the lake before bursting.  Joe brought up that memory one night.  This was the exact spot.