On Azure Lake
Azure Lake has been the subject of several stories on this website (links below), but we continue to return to paddle the lake and explore the northern areas of Wells Gray Park. To get to Azure Lake, we would have to paddle the length of Clearwater Lake (24km), then go up the Clearwater River and portage to Indian Point. Or, we can take the water taxi (link below) to the end of Azure Lake and paddle back. The entire paddle one way is about 46km, but there are a number of campsites along the way (see the links below).
On our most recent trip, we took the water taxi to Rainbow Falls, then paddled 15km to Four and a Half Mile Campground where we stayed for two nights. On the second day, we hiked up to Mount Huntley. On the third day, we paddled 5.5 km to the Clearwater River, then continued on to the Osprey Falls landing, a total of 31km for that day. An easier paddling and camping would be to stay two nights on Azure Lake and two nights on Clearwater Lake.
Although power boats can reach Rainbow Falls if the boats can get up the river, most of the boats on the lake are canoes and kayaks. One campsite on each lake is reserved for paddlers only, but this is only a concern on busy weekends. While we were there, campsites were empty to half-full and all were quiet. The water was azure blue, clean, and warmer than expected.
We will return to Azure every year. It is right in our backyard, a world-class paddle-camping destination.
- Azure Marine Campgrounds
- To Azure Lake
- Rainbow Falls
- Clearwater Marine Sites – Part I
- Clearwater Lake Marine Sites – Part 2
- Clearwater Lake Tours (water taxi)