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Palmer Meadows Lake

Kamloops Trails Posted on by

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 > Palmer Dam Road (no signs) for 14 km.   Navigation will be required to go to the lakeshore and there are some high clearance areas along the way.   The lake can’t be seen until the last minute and there is no visible public road access and boat launch area.   There is a short side road that may be on private property or on Crown grazing lease (or licence) with a gate (close the gate behind you), but paddlers will have to haul their boats down the bank on either side of the dam area.   We found two reasonable launch spots on the west side of the lake, although these spots may need permission from land owners or lessees (there is no signage though).

 

 

This is a scenic lake with many bays, channels, wetlands, islands, and marshes.    Paddling the whole shoreline is an 11.5 km venture.

 

 

There are cutblocks on the hills, meadows and pastures, forested areas, cattle grazing areas, and wetlands around the lake.   Fall colors had started in early September.   There was no one else in the whole area.   The nearest person was probably a fisherman on Dardanelles Lake, only 3 km away, but an hour’s drive.  I doubt that anyone fishes in Palmer Meadows Lake.

 

 

Much of the lake was shallow so there were many ducks in every bay.   Loons were on the lake too and raptors patrolled the area.   A red-tailed hawk perched on a branch overlooking one arm of the lake.

 

 

There was no road access to the east shore of the lake (that I could see), but there was the remains of an old homestead, an isolated spot in the hills.

 

This lake took over 2 hours to paddle on a sunny, breezy day.

 

About KamloopsTrails

I started exploring this area in 1976 and I continue to follow tracks and routes wherever they lead, with the aid of map, compass, GPSr and camera. After many dead-ends, but also many discoveries, I chose to share this information. Getting out 12 months each year, I continue to explore trails, tracks, routes, and waterways of the Kamloops area and beyond.

Comments

Palmer Meadows Lake — 3 Comments

  1. your access information makes no mention of access over private land. This article encourages people to trespass and there is no consideration or respect for private land owners.

    • That would not be fully accurate. There are no signs in the area and the road I tried is also the access to the dam. There is no encouragement to trespass in the article since I know the issues well and the words speak for themselves. If there was a posted sign and/or a locked gate, I would not have proceeded. Fishermen use many of the lakes in the area accessing public roads and the lake itself is Federal property. With the recent Minnie Lake decision, access to public lakes is an issue requiring more clarification. Nevertheless, I have added an extra note to the article about asking for permission to use the 100m section of road in question and I would recommend posting signage if this an issue for the lease holder/owner.

  2. I appreciate your reply. Signage is posted every year. Unfortunately some people ignore it, remove it or it is vandalized. Permission should be done always before accessing private property.

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