Quick Facts

• Parking and Launching: One Mile Lake
• Launching type: dock and sandy beach
• Difficulty – very easy, beginner friendly
• Boat traffic – no motor boats
• View – nice views of the surrounding mountains, some snow-capped peaks in the background
• Facilities: pit toilet
• Overall score – 5/10 (good spot for beginner paddlers to practice if you are nearby)

One Mile Lake is a small, calm lake in Pemberton. It’s approximately 270m across, or 600m to finish a loop, making it the smallest lake we’ve reviewed yet. It’s so small that you can count the number of strokes it takes to go from end to end. But it’s also one of the most beautiful small lakes, with views of snow capped mountains in the distance.

With such a small size, it’s a great place for a beginner to practice. We visited when there were winds with speed of approximately 10km/h, but there was only small ripples on the lake.

Being so close to Pemberton, One Mile Lake is an important feature for the local residents. It provides outdoor skating in the winter, a new boardwalk around the lake for a stroll, and of course, swimming and paddling in the summer. A local rental company Paddle Barn rents out SUPs.

One the beach, there were two picnic tables and a small grassy area. There was a pit toilet near the parking lot.

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With a lake this small, I wouldn’t recommend it to more experienced paddlers because a loop would probably take less time than it does to pump the board. But it’s a great, safe location for a double kiddie paddle for our family.

If you are visiting Pemberton, check out One Mile Lake. It may even be worthwhile for a beginner paddler visiting Whistler to make the 25 min drive to practice here. The size of One Mile Lake is comparable to Lost Lake in Whistler, but parking is much easier. And the conditions on the small lake would almost certainly be more beginner friendly compared with Alta Lake or Green Lake.

For folks in Metro Vancouver, there are other beginner friendly options closer to home.