04/29/2026
Guess the day the ice will be off the lake and win a Tim Hortons gift card!! We're getting pretty close with the great weather so get your pick in soon. One guess per person. This contest is open to Sylvan Lake residents only. Winner will be chosen randomly and notified by the following day. See attached for the ice off standards.
Thank you to Sean McIntyre, Susan Sampson, Mildred McLeod, John Law and many others who have contributed information. The following is courtesy of our one and only around the lake Sean McIntyre!! For more than ninety years, the timing of when Sylvan Lake becomes completely ice-free has been quietly recorded as a local marker of spring. Historical ice-off dates date back to the 1930s through archived editions of the Sylvan Lake News, were later compiled
through community records by Susan Samson for the period from 1992 to 2012, and in recent years have been determined through direct, lake-wide observation by Sean McIntyre. Since 2016, the date has been defined as the first day when no visible ice remains
anywhere on the lake, a standard also used for the Rotary Club of Sylvan Lake's annual Ice-Off fundraiser. While some early years remain undocumented and the original source for the 2024 date is uncertain, the long-term record shows that ice-off typically occurs
in late April or early May, providing a simple but meaningful local history of seasonal change that continues to be tracked for community interest and historical reference. Town of Sylvan Lake Lake Nation
