Crooked Lake is a recreational lake located in the south-eastern region of the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

. It is part of a chain of lakes — the Fishing Lakes — in the

Qu'Appelle Valley The Qu'Appelle River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba that flows east from Lake Diefenbaker in south-western Saskatchewan to join the Assiniboine River in Manitoba, just south of Lake of the Prairies, near t ...

and, like many of the other lakes in the valley, there is a dam at the eastern end that controls water levels. The majority of the southern and western shores of the lake are undeveloped and part of First Nation

Indian reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve () or First Nations reserve () is defined by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." ...

s. Most of the development is along the northern and eastern shores and includes cabins, resorts, campgrounds, beaches, and several communities, including Moose Bay, Sunset Beach, Exner's Twin Bays, Melville Beach, and Grenfell Beach. Access to the lake and most of its amenities is from Highway 247.

Recreation

Crooked Lake offers a variety of activities during both the summer and the winter. During the summer, there is fishing from both boats and docks, various water sports, camping, picnicking, swimming, and hiking. The

Trans Canada Trail The Trans Canada Trail is a cross-Canada system of greenways, waterways, and roadways that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, Pacific to the Arctic Ocean, Arctic oceans. The trail extends over ; it is now the longe ...

runs through the valley and along the lake's northern shore. The winter has ice fishing and

snowmobiling A snowmobile, also known as a snowmachine (chiefly Alaskan), motor sled (chiefly Canadian), motor sledge, skimobile, snow scooter, or simply a sled is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. Their engines normally ...

Crooked Lake Provincial Park

Along the north-eastern shore of the lake is Crooked Lake Provincial Park. The park has campgrounds, a swimming area, a boat launch, and a playground. The Trans Canada Trail makes its way through this scenic area.

Cedar Cove

Cedar Cove is found along the eastern side of the lake with beach access for swimming and boating. There are 80 full-service campsites with washroom facilities, including showers, and a convenience store. There is also a large boat storage yard and provisions for docks and boat lifts.

Coyote Gulch Campgrounds

Coyote Gulch is a seasonal campground located along the north-eastern side of Crooked Lake. The park has 56 full service RV trailer sites, a boat dock, playground, fire pits, showers, bathrooms, and laundry facilities.

Sunset Beach

Located at the eastern end of the lake is Sunset Beach. Run by the Criddle family since 1920, it encompasses 22 campsites, a full service convenience store, and a small arcade. There is also a beach and swim area which contains a playground, a boat launch, and beach volleyball courts. Every Sunday from June to September, local farmers bring fresh vegetables, fruit, meat, and baked goods to sell at the flea market.

Last Oak Golf and Country Club

On Cowessess First Nation land is Last Oak Golf and Country Club, an 18-hole golf course, equipped with a pro shop, restaurant, and lounge. The course is a par 72 with 6558 total yards.

Crooked Lake Dam

Crooked Lake Dam () was built in 1941 to help regulate lake water levels. The dam is located at the eastern end of the lake on the Cowessess 73

. It is a nine-bay concrete and timber dam that is high and has a reservoir capacity of . After

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

ing settlements were reached with the

federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

and the local

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

for previous flooding issues, it was announced in 2015 that the dam will get a $6 to $8 million upgrade. As recently as 2011 and 2014, lake water levels over-topped the dam.

Fish species

Fish species commonly found in Crooked Lake include

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (pikes). They are commonly found in brackish water, moderately salty and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). T ...

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the walleyed pike, yellow pike, yellow pikeperch or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern ...

, and

yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Samuel Latham Mitchill fr ...

References

{{Authority control Lakes of Saskatchewan Dams in Saskatchewan Grayson No. 184, Saskatchewan Dams completed in 1941