When rain is forecast for the day, we can sometimes launch a kayak early and paddle for an hour or more before the weather sets in. On a grey, drizzly morning I launched my boat into Tranquille Bay and encountered a steady wind from the west so I opted to paddle in the lee of trees and small islands. On …Continue reading…
On a sunny May morning, I launched my kayak into marshy Lac du Bis and paddled the shoreline, a 3.3 km route. There was lots to see and no one else around. There were lots of ducks on the lake, including this coot. In the morning the low sun shone with filtered light into the shaded bays of the lake. …Continue reading…
Scuitto Lake is one of our favorite lakes to paddle. There is a nice Rec site with a good boat launch on the east shore of the lake, just off the Scuitto Lake Forest Service Road. On an early May morning we paddled our kayaks out onto the lake following the shoreline in a clockwise loop. When the lake was …Continue reading…
I have driven past Napier Lake many times, but had never paddled it; the challenge was to find access to launch a boat. After a number or stops along the road, I settled on a steep grassy slope near the north end of the lake. There was a small pullout there to unload. I attached wheels to the back of …Continue reading…
When the winds kick up, we can skip paddling for the day, or we can get an early start and find a protected spot. Tow of the lakes that have some good wind protection are Inks Lake and McConnell Lake. In the spring, Inks Lake is close by and provides easy access. A loop around all 3 arms of the …Continue reading…
Its hard to find a good place to paddle on a windy day. I find that a smaller lake down in a bowl is a good choice and McConnell Lake fit that description. The Park can be a busy place but if I arrive early enough, I may find that I am the only one on the lake. The winds …Continue reading…
Heffley Lake is one of our best paddling lakes, but with some limits. It is a popular spot and on weekends the motorized “fleet” arrives on the lake late morning with their noise, wakes, and disturbance, so its best to just avoid those times. The boat launch area can also be full at prime times. We paddled the lake on …Continue reading…
I paddled out of Cooney Bay in April and instead of heading out into the bay and then farther out to Kamloops Lake, I chose to paddle upstream into the shallow river channels and explore the delta sand islands. At low water, the river divides into 3 channels near the mouth before entering Kamloops Lake. The main channel is about …Continue reading…
In April most of the lakes in the hills are still covered in ice so we do a rotation of the valley-bottom lakes first (Kamloops Lake, Little Shuswap Lake, Nicola Lake, Stump Lake, Trapp Lake, Shumway Lake, then move to the lower lakes in the hills. When we paddle the larger lakes, we watch for a day with no wind. …Continue reading…
Trapp Lake is a long narrow lake in the bottom of the gully south of Shumway Lake. There is a good launch spot halfway down the lake. It is one of the lakes in which the ice clears off early, so I usually pick it for a spring paddle. I paddled down the west shore and then back on the …Continue reading…
On a calm early April day we launched our kayaks from Cooney Bay and paddled into the rivers flow, down to the lake. We rounded the corner and followed the shoreline of Cooney Bay. Our route continued past a few fishermen, rocky bluffs, gravely and shingled shoreline beaches, and railway fixtures toward Battle Bluff. We passed the tunnel under the …Continue reading…
The water is cold in March , but with the right gear we can paddle on the rivers as soon as the ice melts. We need to avoid windy days because the cold winds make progress difficult and uncomfortable, but when the conditions are right, paddling is a perfect late winter – early spring activity. We launch from the beach …Continue reading…
As the air temperatures drop so does the water temperature in the rivers, but more slowly. The water in the river is still okay for paddling in November, but we wait for a mild day with no wind. I paddled upstream for a couple of kilometers getting a good workout, then turned around an enjoy a more leisurely paddle downstream. …Continue reading…
By the middle of October there are very few paddlers on the lake or the rivers of the area. Although the water takes a long time to become cold, colder temperatures and winds must be deal with. Mornings tend to be cold and winds start up by late morning so there is a window of opportunity to fit in a …Continue reading…
One of the lakes we return to paddle each year is Badger Lake. Access to the lake is either past Knouff Lake (7 km) on a bumpy back road, or up the Orchard Lake Road (13 km) from Highway 5 North. The road goes up the east side of Badger Lake to a B.C. Rec Site. There is now a …Continue reading…
Palmer Meadows Lake lies in the hills east of Stump Lake, not far from Dardanelles Lake. It is a dammed lake with the reservoir benefiting waterfowl and ranchers that need summer irrigation. The dam has created a larger lake, flooding copses, meadows, marshes, and low areas. Access is by backroads (Old Kamloops Road > Fraser Road > …Continue reading…