About Skeleton Lake
Skeleton Lake is a local and regional focal point for water-based recreation. This popular lake is quite extensively developed and is used each year by thousands of Albertans. It is located in the County of Athabasca, 160 kilometres northeast of the City of Edmonton and 6.5 kilometres northeast of the Village of Boyle.
The lake's name is a translation of the Cree Cheply Sakhahigan which means "place of the skeletons." A Cree chief is buried near the entrance to the Boyle Old Timer's Golf Course along the eastern shore of the lake.
The early local history of the area reflects to a large extent, the harvest of natural resources such as fur, fish and timber. Large stands of spruce around the lake attracted logging activity in the early 1900's. There was a sawmill on the lakeshore some time after 1915 and another operated at Bondiss from 1923 to 1940 when log booms were frequently seen on the lake during this period. The Northern Alberta Railway reached the vicinity in 1914 bringing homesteaders. The major economic activity in the region eventually became mixed farming.
More recent history of the area reflects the importance of the lake's recreational resources. In 1946, a private resort opened at the end of the southeast bay on the site of one of the former saw mills and later the Summer Village of Bondiss grew around the resort. Seasonal cottage development took off in the 60's and 70's until now it is the predominant form of recreational land use at Skeleton Lake. There are now over 900 cottage and trailer sites around Skeleton Lake. There are 11 subdivisions surrounding the lake which are part of the County of Athabasca containing more than 300 lots. As well, the Summer Village of Mewatha Beach with approximately 220 properties, the Summer Village of Bondis with approximately 195 lots and Shoreline Campground with approximately 170 sites are all located on the shores of Skeleton Lake. A public golf course is located in the Summer Village of Bondis on the East side of the lake.
The most popular recreational activities at the lake during summer are fishing, swimming, golfing, general relaxation, quadding, power boating, water skiing and wakeboarding. In winter, ice fishing and ski-doing are the favoured activities.
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