Lafarge to Kamloops Paddle
The South Thompson River from Chase to Kamloops provides excellent downriver paddling. We can divide the river route into 3 sections (based on accessible launch/landing sites) – Chase to Pritchard, Pritchard to Lafarge, and Lafarge to downtown Kamloops. We paddled from Lafarge to Pioneer Park in mid-June.
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The paddling is all easy and the only issue is avoiding a lot of powerboats. By getting an early start, we were able to avoid most of the motorized traffic. Most boat owners are considerate and slow down when passing canoes and kayaks (but not all). The silt cliffs rise above the shores of the river.
There are many riverfront homes in Dallas and Valleyview. Behind them, Sunrise Mountain stands among the wispy clouds over the south shore of the river.
Mt. Peter and Paul stand over the north side of the river as we approach downtown Kamloops.
The river section is 20km from the launch area next to the Lafarge Bridge to the boat launch at Pioneer Park. We are very lucky to have two rivers running downstream to the “meeting of the waters,” making fine downriver paddling for us from March to November.