We have camped at Big Bar Lake Provincial Park a few times, using it as a basecamp for hiking the Marble Range, for paddling the lakes of the area, and for exploring the area.    There is a fine campground with 46 sites overlooking Big Bar Lake.  To get to the park, drive west on TransCanada Highway, then turn north at Creek and go north and past Clinton.    Eight kilometers north of Clinton, turn onto the Big Bar Road and follow the gravel road west for 34 km.   Watch for the Provincial Parks signs for the turn down to the lake.

While we camped at the lake, we kayaked, but we also hiked the Otter Marshes Trail.

The loop route is 3.5 km and is a self-guided nature trail following a series of marshes.   The best time to do this hike is in late spring when the waterfowl and grasslands birds are active.

On the way back, we hiked over glaciated landscape features with views of the Marble Range to the south and of Big Bar Lake to the east.

From a hiker’s perspective this is a nice nature hike right from the campground.    The best hikes are into the Marble Range, with trailheads off the Jesmond Road staring about 20 km to the southwest.