At the end of 2015, Kamloops Trails pauses to look back and also to look ahead. 2015 Just a few days ago, Kamloops Trails achieved a milestone – 1000 articles published. Earlier in the month, the Number of Site Visits (meter at the bottom of the site) passed the 3 000 000 mark. The year started slowly because of major …Continue reading…
To paddle Kamloops Lake we can launch from Savona, Tobiano, or Cooney Bay. For those in a kayak or canoe, we drive past Tranquille, staying left at Tranquille on the Lake, following a bumpy road for 1 km down to the parking area. The trail to Cooney Bay has a number of large fallen trees down now so it is …Continue reading…
The road through the pass between Mt. Wheeler on the north and Mt. Mara on the south has a block of private property bounded by fences and signs so any east-west travel is not possible without climbing well up the hillsides of either mountain above the fencelines. We parked on the public road and climbed north up the sagebrush slopes …Continue reading…
The hills overlooking the south shore of Kamloops Lake have extensive slopes of sage and grasslands. The hilltops and north-facing areas have ponderosa and douglas fir trees, but it is open forest allowing easy passage in any direction. There are a few tracks/dirt roads too, all behind fence lines. Cattle will be on these ranges soon so we keep our …Continue reading…
Our best riverside walk starts on the Rivers Trail at the end of Aviation Way. The trailbed is a raised dike above the high water mark. If we hike this in early spring/late winter, we can combine the trail with a diversion to Dale’s Antique Beach, and the sandbars that extend toward Tranquille. The trail heads west passing between riparian …Continue reading…
July, 2018 July 1 – Mabel Lake July 6 – Wild Horse Ridge June, 2018 June 4 – Walloper Lake paddle June 6 – Three Amigos Hike June 8 – Floodlands paddle June 10 – Galiano Island hike June 11 – 13 – Wallace Island June 16 – Stake Lake paddle and hike June 20 – Inks Lake …Continue reading…
This area is the domain of motorcycles and ATV s. Even though it is now in the provincial park, the hills were heavily used for motorized recreational purposes so that right has been grandfathered forward. The whole motorized area has been reduced to the southeast section which is rugged and steep. Normally non-motorized hiking or biking in this …Continue reading…
Mount Wheeler is the middle mountain in a the north-south series (Opax, Wheeler, Mara) dividing the grasslands from the Tranquille River Valley. There are two main routes up and over the mountain, from Pruden Pass on the south side and from Lac du Bois on the northeast. We have run, biked, hiked, scrambled, and snowshoed on Wheeler, but for this …Continue reading…
Driving Directions The main trailheads are off both sides of the Lac du Bois Road. From anywhere in Kamloops cross either bridge to get to the North Shore. From the Overlander Bridge stay on Fortune Drive, then turn right onto 8th Street. At the Halston Interchange, continue north to Batchelor Drive. At the end of Batchelor Drive, the road enters …Continue reading…
There are over 2000 posts about hiking, paddling, and snowshoeing routes on this site. They were mostly written soon after doing the route. Back in 2010, the articles were shorter and there was less integration with Google Earth, GPS, maps, and recent photos. By 2013, the posts are full of photos, maps and Google Earth routes. For some hikes, I …Continue reading…
As we travel northwest along the Tranquille Canyon, we can see a line of rugged mountains/hills overlooking the river. Volcanic cliffs and eroded bluffs loom over the canyon starting with Mount Mara, then Wheeler Mountain, and Opax Mountain. The fourth in this line is Watching Hill. It sits over the confluence of Watching Creek and the Tranquille River. The …Continue reading…
In a single week, the rivers have risen a great deal, but the North Thompson is ahead of the South Thompson, so much so that it has backed up the South Thompson's progress. One week ago, I paddled the South Thompson and the river had its usual slow flow, but this week the river was sluggish. I paddled downstream from …Continue reading…
The hills above the north shore of Kamloops rise steeply above the flood plain, but the hills beyond are mostly rolling and treeless Bachelor Hill stands above this area with Telus towers on top. A road switchbacks up to the top, but this is the least pleasing route choice. Instead, a number of old double tracks can be combined …Continue reading…
Kamloops area rockhounds have uncovered many locations where agates can be found. Agates have been used for ornamental purposes, carving, and display since ancient times. Agates are formed through volcanic processes when crystalline silicas bond into layers within a pocket in the lava. Quartz layers may also be present in the nodules, Our area is well-know for its chalcedonies. Chalcedony …Continue reading…
The old wagon route from Tranquille to Pruden Pass was used to connect the Wheeler Mountain homesteaders community with the sanatorium and homes in the Tranquille area. The road now sits inside Lac du Bois Grasslands Protected Area and has gradually become rougher and more difficult to drive with the gate often locked. Now it is a 4WD route up …Continue reading…