A full article (map, directions, images, etc.) on the overland trek into Painted Bluffs has been published but we also have a short video on YouTube shared here. The embedded video player can be expanded to full screen and has various controls (share, volume, speed, etc.). Click the video to get started.
On a hot summer day we got an early start to go for a short hike in the hills above Kamloops Lake. The access point to hike down to Balancing Rock is 1.5 km past the Six Mile Lookout. A sharp right turn to a dirt pullout goes to the gate in the fence. A single track goes down the …Continue reading…
When freshet arrives the low-lying floodlands fill with water and we can paddle out from the Tranquille Wildlife Preserve into Tranquille Bay. An early start often means no wind. At about 11:00 am the winds start and will be stronger yet by noon. “Islands” of shrubs stand in the floodwaters. The Thompson River and Kamloops Lake become one larger lake …Continue reading…
Painted Bluffs Provincial Park is an outstanding location to hike to, but its not an easy route. I have paddled there from Savona or Tobiano and i have hiked over the hills from every direction to get there each year. In early May a small group hiked over the hills from the Copper Creek Road, climbing over ridges through gullies …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…
The rocky hills surrounding Kamloops Lake offer opportunities for exploratory hiking, but access is often a challenge. Abbey Road is a short sideroad off the Trans Canada highway and it goes into the hills as an access road for a gasline and hydro lines. there was a gate there in past years and now the gate is gone and high-clearance …Continue reading…
Near the end of February, we hiked from Tranquille, around Cooney Bay, over the bluffs and out to the last point before Battle Bluff and back. the weather was clear and mild and there was no wind. It felt like the end of winter. The first part of Cooney Bay had some mud, but after that, the section to the …Continue reading…
Each winter we seem to have a month when more moderate weather melts the snow at lower elevations. The best places to hike when this happens are along the shoreline and beaches of our rivers and Kamloops Lake. The Cooney Bay Road is rough at any time of the year, but it was even more potholed with deep slushy puddles …Continue reading…
How long will Balancing Rock stay on top of the pillar? Every time I return there, it seems more precariously perched on the eroded conglomerates that support it. We returned to hike the area in early December on a windy, cold day. We hiked from the gate down a single track to the edge of the steep slopes above Balancing …Continue reading…
There have been 5 Ice Ages spanning the last 2000 million years. In that span there were many geological events too, with folding, faulting, and volcanic activity changing the landscape. A number of volcanic events shaped the hills around Kamloops Lake, but the glaciers of the ice age also shaped the land. During the last Ice Age which started 2.5 …Continue reading…
Painted Bluffs Provincial Park lies on the north side of Kamloops Lake east of Copper Creek. Access by land is difficult, but it can be done from the Copper Creek Road just below the Sabiston Creek Road junction (link). We have been in to Painted Bluffs five times in the last 2 years, with the last time by kayak from …Continue reading…
In most years the Thompson River floods during freshet filling Tranquille Bay for easy launching and access to the floodlands. In 2019, however, the river has not flooded these lands extensively so launching is more difficult and some of the channels we can normally paddle have low water. On a day in mid-June I launched out of Cooney Bay. There …Continue reading…
We have been exploring all the hills around Kamloops Lake for a few years now, but access can be difficult and any effort to hike usually involves a lot of climbing up and down bluffs. We try to avoid private property and respect signage and just go around things, but we also have two railway lines and some grazing fences, …Continue reading…
When we reach transition season and all the trails are either snowy, icy, or muddy, we have a few “go-to trails” we can hike in late winter and early spring. The Savona to Sabiston Creek hike is just above the lake and the whole route is on a south-facing slope, so it is often the first to clear and dry …Continue reading…
In 2018 we hiked into Painted Bluffs Provincial Park twice. We explore the area most years, some of them arriving by kayak, launching from Tobiano or Savona. Most visitors only go to the foot of the weathered bluffs, but we have hiked and scrambled up and down the ridges and the gullies for a variety of views. Although the painted …Continue reading…