The river from Chase to Kamloops has excellent paddling before the power boat season.   Once the powerful boats hit the river, the wakes and noise overwhelms the narrow river.   When this happens, the North Thompson and Kamloops Lake are a better choice.

Putting the boat into the water and taking it out is limited to a few locations.   There are some rough hand-launch spots along the river, but the main launch sites are at bridges, dividing the river into sections:

• Chase to the Pritchard Bridge (20 km)
• Pritchard to Lafarge (20 km)
• Lafarge to Valleyview Boat Launch (14 km)
• Valleyview downriver to Pioneer Park, Overlander Park, or McArthur Island (up to 10 km)
• Downstream to the airport, Tranquille Bay (at freshet) or Cooney Bay (up to 12 km)

We paddled from the Pritchard Bridge (NE side beach) to the Lafarge Bridge (NW side beach) on a sunny day.   This is a scenic and pleasant route.   There are a number of large gravel or sandbars before May and after August, but kayaks and canoes can float over these as the river rises.   The sides of the river are less built-up than the area to the west and there will be less power boats in any month.   The 20 km journey takes 3.5 – 4 hours, a leisurely day of paddling.

You will need some kind of drop-off/pick up system to paddle downstream only.   Pick a day without strong winds from the west and take your time, then come back to paddle a different part of the river on another day.