Discover Sherwood Park Strathcona County April 2016 | Page 33

Communities
South Cooking Lake
The Cree, Blackfoot and the Sarcee were the first to
inhabit this area and that is where the name originally
came from. O-PI-MI-W-SIOOSAKYAKN – Here’s Where
We Cook Lake or Cooking Lake. South Cooking Lake is
located 19km southeast of Sherwood Park on Highway
14 and most recent census is 204 residents.
The water was clear and high. The beaches
were white sand the forests thick
and tall. Cooking Lake was fished
commercially until 1926. Large
numbers of buffalo, lynx, fox, mink, muskrat, elk, deer, moose, wolves,
coyotes and black bears used to roam. Many people remember
the dances at Lakeview Hall. Drive past South Cooking Lake to
Lakeview and you can see the rebuilt “Lakeview Fireplace”; all
that is left of this famous meeting place.
Today it is possible to see a variety of wildlife and birds
throughout the area. There is