Desert Lake is a great place to go for a swim. During the summer months you can see recreational swimmers near the shore and even crossing the lake!   

Swimmers experience the lake’s excellent water quality, rocky shorelines dotted with intermittent natural beaches, and natural vegetation and wildlife.  Visitors to the lake are not the only ones enjoying the water: take a look and you can see turtles, snakes, fish, and water fowl.  Please respect your fellow swimmers by keeping the lake clean!   

WATER SAFETY
Drowning is fast and silent, however every drowning death is preventable with water safety knowledge and common sense. Enjoy the water responsibly with these common tips:

  • Know the depth of the water and the shoreline before jumping or diving in;
  • Check the weather;
  • Swim with others present and know your limits;
  • Supervise children and pets;
  • Swim sober;
  • Wear a lifejacket whenever you are in a boat;
  • Open water swimmers are encouraged to use a safety boat (ie canoe, kayak etc) or a large bright buoy for visibility;
  • The lake is a lake, not a bathtub: please do not wash your hair or body in it. Even biodegradable soaps require soil to be properly filtered. Rinsing your hair at least water 30 meters from the shoreline helps prevent algae blooms from being formed by the runoff.  

For more Water Safety tips and considerations, please visit the Life Saving Society website.

A report by the World Health Organization (WHO) says drowning is among the top causes of death for children worldwide. This startling statistic means that we need to ramp up drowning prevention efforts. View the Drowning Research page at the Life Saving Society site to learn more and to keep kids safe.