Sylvan Lake

The town of Sylvan Lake is located in central Alberta, along Highway 11A or highway 11, approximately 25 kilometres west of Red Deer City. It is located on the southeast edge of Sylvan Lake, a 15 kilometre or 9.3 mile long freshwater lake, within the county of Red Deer.

The lake is a tourist destination for individuals all over the province, bringing in around 1.5 million visitors each and every year. Popular tourist activities include sunbathing, swimming, water-skiing, and visiting the local Wild Rapids Waterslides.

The town of Sylvan Lake was first settled by French speaking immigrants from Quebec and the United States. Arriving in the year 1898 from Michigan, Alexandre Loiselle with his family originally homesteaded the quarter section that afterward became the west side of the current Main (50th) Street and the businesses and homes immediately toward the west.

The early twentieth century saw groups of Estonian and then Finnish settlers moving to homesteads to the south and west of the fledgling settlement at the town of Sylvan Lake. With their arrival came a general store, the early business community, a blacksmith, a hardware store, barber, restaurants, post office and a lot more. The completion of the Canadian Northern line to Rocky Mountain House and Nordegg during 1912 and the parallel Canadian Pacific during 1914 opened the west country to settlement and caused the incorporation of Sylvan Lake during 1913 under Mayor E. S. Grimson, a local hardware store owner. The anniversary of the founding of the town of Sylvan Lake is celebrated every year in Sylvan Lake as "1913 Days."

Believed to be among Canada's Top Ten Resort Hot Spots, Sylvan Lake is a booming community which has seen considerable growth over the last 10 years. No longer considered a seasonal community, based on the 2006 federal cencus, 86% of homes are permanent household.

Statistics Canada have rated the town of Sylvan Lake as the fasted growing rural community, along with being amongst Canada's youngest communities. During the last five years the municipality has seen yearly growth rates of as much as 20 per cent. Now 70 per cent of the town's population comprises individuals between the ages of 1 - 44 years.

During 2006, the ARP or Waterfront Area Redevelopment Plan was created in order to promote new development and growth of the downtown and waterfront areas. This plan provide needed direction and identifies opportunities of growth, with intensification and efficient use of land with improved lake access. Implementation of the plan has resulted in amendments to regulations to provide flexible zoning to achieve the desired vision.