Lake Ellenwood Beach

History

Lake Ellenwood Beach's supervised area is a man-made beach that was constructed in 1996 to improve the Provincial Park's facilities. Prior to this, the NSLS supervised a different swimming area within the park, commonly referred to as "the campground beach". The landscape of Ellenwood Park and its surroundings, like all of southwestern Nova Scotia, has been modified by glaciers. As these glaciers ploughed and scraped across the land, they created a relatively flat surface. The eroded material was deposited as glacial features such as eskers (sand, gravel or cobble deposits formed into long, narrow ridges) and frumlins (oval-shaped hills composed of glacial till). Glacial deposits also blocked the flow of rivers and streams, thus creating numerous lakes in the area, such as Lake Ellenwood.

Beach Safety

Lake Ellenwood Beach is fairly safe, but some drop-off spots can be dangerous. At each end of the buoy line, there are rock ledges which are surrounded by extremely shallow water. If there are offshore breezes, inflatables can be dangerous for weak swimmers due to drop-offs. The supervised swimming area is marked by red and yellow flags on either side of the beach and a red-and-white buoy line in the water. It is generally about 150 meters in width, but it can vary depending on beach conditions. Beach conditions are regularly reported on CJLS AM Radio. The lifeguards enforce a "No Diving" rule at all times. The lifeguards also advise patrons not to shoulder dive or dive off the rock ledges. Patrons are also discouraged from swimming outside of the supervised area. Hard shell boats are prohibited from launching, landing or travelling in the supervised area. Inflatable boats, rafts or flotation devices are also prohibited on days when the wind is blowing offshore.