As you enter the Kootenay Plains Ecological Reserve from the north, the road dips down to the level of the river and lake at Preachers Point.

This is where Abraham Lake starts and where you will take out your canoes if you go on a canoe trip in the upper reaches of the North Saskatchewan River.

A ford across the river allows horse access to the other side and into the Whiterabbit and Siffleur Valleys. Pedestrians will have to use the suspension bridge on the Siffleur trail.

In winter months, when the river is frozen, it is possible to cross on foot (with due caution) and marvel at the patterns in the ice and the boulders on the bottom of the stream.

A pleasant picnic spot with impressive views of the Kootenay Plains, Excoelis Mountain, Mt. Michener, Mt Abraham and Elliot Peak. Before the damming of Abraham Lake in 1972 much of the valley bottom was grasslands like this, all the way to Windy Point. As beautiful as it can be at times, the lake has resulted in significant habitat loss for wildlife over-wintering in the plains.