Hand-Launch Sites
Kamloops has two major rivers and a large lake but very few access points. We have some fully-developed boat launches – Valleyview, Pioneer Park, and for a short-time, McArthur Island. Boaters can also go to Tobiano, Savona, or Chase. Many communities also have hand launch sites, that is, a place to park and a gentle short slope to the river or lake. Good examples of hand-launch sites can be found along the Shuswap River and at various points on Shuswap Lake. But Kamloops has few access points to these rivers. There are a few possible locations, though.
There are a couple of narrow and awkward points in Westsyde to launch a canoe and kayak and when the river is high, access is possible from Schubert Drive, but parking, distance, and terrain makes these very limited spots. Can we add some hand lauch sites to the river and lake? Where?
- Kamloops is busy adding ball diamonds and rugby fields to the huge tract of land in Rayleigh. We drove down to look at it and we saw that there is ample room to provide a few parking spaces and an inclined slope for a hand launch for canoes and kayaks. Thompson River Interior Paddle Sports Club is working with this website to draft a letter to the City to request consideration of a hand launch site.
- Cooney Bay has had a boat launch on the books for a long time. Will it ever happen?
- What can we do to encourage marine access to our wilderness corridors right in the middle of the city?