Young's Point Provincial Park Beach

Managed by North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper

Water quality advisory lifted for Young’s Point Beach June 29, 2021. Click here for more info.

Young's Point Provincial Park Beach on the northwest shore of Sturgeon Lake has a small seasonal
beach surrounded by a grass area perfect for picnicking or tossing a ball. The beach has shallow, clear waters with more reeds and weeds in a natural setting. The beach and PP are known more for wildlife viewing and great camping, boating, and fishing/canoeing opportunities.

Young's Point Provincial Park was named for Frederick Campbell Young, who homesteaded in the area in
1920. It is a large park, located on 1,089 ha of land on the north shore. It can be reached from Highway
34 by a 9-km-long local road at the west end of the lake (Fig. 2). Park facilities include 124 campsites,
a sewage disposal facility, 2 playgrounds, a boat launch, picnic areas, a beach and
swimming area, and walking trails. Recreational activities enjoyed by park visitors
include swimming, boating, fishing, picnicking, hiking, skating, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing.

Get directions to this beach

COVID-19

Keep your distance from other people.

Practicing social distancing is still essential. Only go to the beach if you are able to keep 6 feet or 2 meters away from others. Follow the instructions provided by your local health authorities. If your community has asked that you remain indoors and away from others, do so. Spending a day in any crowded place is the worst thing we can do for our most vulnerable right now and will counter our efforts to curb the virus’s spread.

Water Quality

No data available
Current Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on July 20th, 2021. North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on July 28th, 2021 at 8:41 AM.

For water quality icon legend, click:

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Monitoring Frequency

Source Information

Alberta Health Services (AHS) monitors freshwater beaches across the province of Alberta. Water samples at this beach are collected by AHS staff and processed by Alberta Public Laboratories.

Beaches are sampled on varying frequencies for Enterococcus and for cyanobacteria and microcystins (blue-green algae) during the summer months.

Water quality is monitored in accordance with the proposed Alberta Safe Beach Protocol, using the Environmental Protection Agency’s Recreational Water Quality Criteria.

Enterococcus is measured using the quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) based molecular method of testing recreational water. High Enterococcus levels can indicate fecal contamination which poses human health risks. Guidelines recommend that a water quality advisory be posted when the tests demonstrate calibrator cell equivalents (cce) surpassing 1,280/100ml.

When a Water Quality Advisory is issued, a notice is erected at the beach indicating that the location is unfit for swimming or bathing. In addition, a Water Quality Advisory is issued through the AHS website, local media.
An advisory is rescinded once water quality meets the above standards.

In addition to Enterococcus, AHS monitors blue-green algae throughout the swimming season. Algal blooms are monitored through visual observation and through testing for cyanobacteria and microcystins (toxins produced by blue-green algae).

AHS issues a Blue-Green Algae Advisory when a bloom is identified. Advisories are posted online to https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/news/bga.aspx, circulated by local media. Appropriate signage is posted around the water body (public beaches, access points, campgrounds, etc). These advisories remain in place for the duration that the health risk persists.

Swim Guide posts all advisories (enterococcus and blue green algae) that are announced. However Swim Guide is not able to share monitoring data for Alberta beaches on an ongoing basis as AHS does not share water quality test results with the public. Therefore, the swim icon will appear grey for monitored beaches due to a lack of public access to AHS recreational water quality data. Advisories will appear on the beach page as a special status red, with an ad.

Water Quality Graph