Allan Lake is found at the northeast end of the Bonaparte Plateau.   Bonaparte Lake is the largest of all lakes in the area but Mayson Lake and nearby Allan Lake are the next largest vehicle-access lakes.   To get to Allan Lake, drive for 45km up the Jamieson Creek Forest Service Road, then turn east onto the Gorman FSR.   At 2.7 km along the sideroad, a signed turn leads us into the Allan Lake Rec Site.

The campsite is a good spot to launch a boat for a 9km (2 hour) shoreline paddle around the lake.   The lake has been dammed to maintain the water levels so there are a lot of tree stumps along the shoreline.

There is also lots of marshland around the edges with shallow bays to explore.

Traveling this far up backroads to paddle a lake is warranted for a number of reasons:

• there will likely be no one around (I saw no one at all in the whole area on this August weekday)
• there were bald eagles, ospreys, loons, kingfishers, and other birds
• from the appearance of the water lilies, moose had been grazing in the shallows
• I spotted a bear and some deer nearby
• the lake is large enough to paddle for 2 hours, a good workout
• we can drive a loop route back

From Allan Lake, I drove down the Gorman Lake FSR for 6 km to Gorman Lake.

Continuing along the Gorman FSR we are provided views northeast across to the Dunn Range.

It is 9.5 km from Gorman Lake down to Westsyde Road.   The whole route is 2WD, but it is slow-going.   From the junction, the right fork follows Fishtrap Creek down to the McLure Ferry and beyond to Westsyde Road.   The left fork goes back to Barriere.

We can paddle on a busy lake or we can find an out-of-the-way peaceful lake in the backcountry.   Both Allan and Mayson Lakes are fine choices for a day with only the birds and fish.