Jacko Lake is one of the first lakes to clear of ice so it attracts fishermen early in the season. In mid-spring the lake turns over and many ducks and shoreline birds arrive in the 4 marshy arms of the lake. Although it is a busy fishing lake, the 4 shallow arms are good for paddling and we can easily …Continue reading…
Paul Lake is one of our best paddling spots. The ice comes off in mid-spring, then we can paddle from either the Provincial Park or the and launch at the west end for the next 7.5 months. To paddle the entire lake is a longer route of 12 km, so we usually paddle the east end, the middle section, and …Continue reading…
Cooney Bay is a good launch spot for kayaking on Kamloops Lake at this time of the year. To get the 18 foot kayak down to the shoreline, i put a set of wheels on the back end and then pull it down the path to the water’s edge on the river. From this launch, it is a short paddle …Continue reading…
his was an unpublished post so rather than delete it, I have edited it a bit and published it as a short Ramble. <a href=”https://kamloopstrails.net/wp-content/uploads/002.jpg”><img class=”aligncenter size-large wp-image-15456″ src=”https://kamloopstrails.net/wp-content/uploads/002-620×357.jpg” alt=”002″ width=”620″ height=”357″ /></a>A map of Paul Lake: <a href=”https://kamloopstrails.net/wp-content/uploads/paul-lake.jpg”><img class=”aligncenter size-large wp-image-15463″ src=”https://kamloopstrails.net/wp-content/uploads/paul-lake-620×149.jpg” alt=”paul-lake” width=”620″ height=”149″ /></a>Looking down the lake on a grey late fall day from the kayak.<a href=”https://kamloopstrails.net/wp-content/uploads/IMG_1614.jpg”><img …Continue reading…
In late fall, we drove out from Barnhartvale on the bumpy Scuitto Lake Forest Service Road for 12 km to the Rec Site on Scuitto Lake. It was a sunny day for a 5.2 km paddle around the lake shoreline. We met pelicans and skeletons along the route. The Scuitto Lake Rec Site has been rebuilt and has designated …Continue reading…
From Bruker Marina at Tobiano, Rousseau Hill stands above the north side of Kamloops Lake. This is a great spot to launch to explore the middle section of the lake and all its bluffs, eroded slopes, silt cliffs, gullies, hoodoos, volcanic features, and shorelines. It is a 2 km paddle across to the far shore, below Peregrine Bluffs. On this …Continue reading…
One of our favorite lakes to kayak is found far up in the hills north of Kamloops. Badger Lake has an upgraded BC Rec Site for camping and a new boat launch area. To get to Badger Lake, most vehicles turn north off the Sun Peaks Road, heading toward Knouff Lake, then they just keep going all the way to …Continue reading…
There are a number of lakes in the Roche Lake Provincial Park area. Some are easily accessible like Bleeker Lake, Roche Lake, and Horseshoe Lake and some are harder to get to, requiring high clearance or 4WD. Horseshoe Lake Campsite/boat launch is off the West Roche Lake Road and the branch road is clearly signed. The road is a …Continue reading…
Jacko Lake is one of the closest lakes to Kamloops and at a low altitude, it is also one of the first ice-free lakes for fishing. It is a busy place in spring so we paddle on the larger lakes early and come back to Jacko in summer when the lake heats up and fishing is not so good. When …Continue reading…
While paddling Horseshoe Lake, I trained the long lens on various plants, insects, and ecosystems. Hover your cursor over an image for a caption/ID or click an image for a full-sized view.
We paddled out to Wallace Island on a calm day, so we went right through the middle of Trincomali channel, but on the way back 2 days later, the winds were stronger from the southeast so we did a crossing of the channel right to the bluffs of Galiano island, then followed the line of cliffs for 15 km all …Continue reading…
Wallace Island Provincial Park is found in the Gulf Islands between the northern ends of Saltspring and Galiano Islands. It is a marine-only access park with anchorages for larger boats and landings for paddlers. Most paddlers come over from Saltsping where it is only about 2 km from launch to landing. It is possible to paddle from Vancouver Island, Galiano …Continue reading…
When the weather gets hot, we often go to the high country to find shade, to be next to a lake, and to enjoy moderate in the hills trails. In this last outing, we brought our kayaks and paddled 2 loops around the lake then hiked one loop around the lake. We find the water in Stake Lake to be …Continue reading…
When freshet brings the North Thompson and South Thompson Rivers to a high water point , the area at the head of Kamloops Lake floods. The flat floodplains near Tranquille get covered in several feet of floodwaters. In addition, Cooney Bay floods, the beach disappears, and the shoreline recedes. We paddled out of Tranquille Bay then followed the river downstream …Continue reading…
Even though snows still linger, we can start paddling on the river. Although the Pioneer Park boat launch is still closed, we can get our boat down to the river with a little extra work. Since the water is cold, we used a wetsuit and stayed close to the shoreline. The south-facing shoreline was clear of snow but the north-facing …Continue reading…
Thompson Rivers Interior Paddle Sports Club is hosting a Learn to Paddle Course in partnership with City Recreation. Details are found in the Parks and Rec brochure or on http://kamloopspaddlers.net. The first session is in the pool on March 12, followed by 6 sessions on the river. Boats provided by TRIPS.