Sylvan Lake - My Actifit Report Card: September 15 2026

Hey Actifitters,

For our last day in this trip, we didn't want to just drive to the airport, so the plan was to get up very early so we could go and catch the sunrise at Sylvan Lake. Well, it didn't go exactly this way. First, we had one tire that was missing air for some reason, so looking for a gas station that has the air machine at 6am, not fun. And when the thing doesn't work at the first station, even more fun! Anyways, we eventually were able to fill air in all tires and back on the road. Then, wrong turn, here we are on one of the beautiful scenic roads with one car only tunnels and all that stuff. Beautiful and very cool, but we were late! When we finally made it to the lake, I really thought we were way too late for sunrise. But surprise, with all the peaks around, the light was still soft and beautiful.

And the morning mist over the lake as well.

And the lake still had the night stillness, creating a perfect mirror for reflections.

Just the top of some of these massive rock formations were now illuminated.

Just like this chipmunk, I thought breakfast would be a good idea but we still had to wait for the full sunrise of course.

I first went to the same vantage point in the rocks, like a couple days before, where the view over the lake is one of the best.

Just a couple more weeks and the fall colors would really start to pop I think.

We then got back down on the shore for other angles, still waiting for the sun to actually show up on these rocks.

Once again, I'm keeping lots of reflections photos for a possible post later, but it's impossible to describe the beauty without some of these great reflections.

Even reflections of people!

What about the actual sun during all that you might ask. It finally showed up, above these other rock formations.

Went to the dam as well. Still no water flowing through, but the drop off behind is pretty cool.

Even at that time, the morning mist was still hovering over parts of the lake, impressive!

We finished another loop, just for a few more reflections of these massive granite formations, now fully in the sun.

And one last before we left, because why not?

After, we just had enough time for breakfast back at the hotel, then packing and a quick shower, so we could hit the road fresh before going to the airport. Dropping back the rental minivan went very smoothly and we arrived at the airport with plenty of time spare.
Well, that was short, really just 2 days and a half, in addition to race day, but we managed to pack a lot in there with most of the tourist spots and decent hiking. We just skipped a couple of the infamous scenic routes because they were too scary for some people. But overall, a great trip. Like I already said, I do recommend Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills if you get a chance!
As always, thanks for stopping by and see you tomorrow.

[//]:# (!pinmapple 43.8461 lat -103.5644 long d3scr)
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15/09/2026

11357

Walking,Hiking,Daily Activity