Murtle Lake West

At the end of September and into the first days of October, we went into Murtle Lake for 4 days, paddling into the west arm.

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From Blue River we drove up the narrow Murtle FSR for 27 km to the parking area. The parking lot is well-laid out and has information boards and an outhouse. The portage in is 2.5 km and takes about 1.25 hours. The Park Operator was working on the track and so it was a bit rough, but we appreciated the maintenance being done on the bridges, the parking area, the launch area and the portage path.

I used a kayak cart, but I could see that a canoe cart (with bigger wheels) would be better for a longer kayak and a bigger load. Its still a good workout to get in to Murtle (and back out is harder after paddling). Paddlers can rent a cart at Blue River or pick it up at the lake.

From the end of the track, we launched our loaded kayaks into Murtle Lagoon. At the west end of the lagoon Snookwa Creek enters the lagoon, draining the southern slopes and the Stevens Lakes up in Indian Valley. The distance through the lagoon is 1.6km. There are two campgrounds right at entrance into the lake and we have stayed there before right next to the sandy beach. This is a good choice if conditions are windy on arrival. Paddlers either head north or west from this point. The first campsite on the way north is Strait Creek, a wonderful spot.

A Guide to Murtle Lake, North Arm

This time we pointed our kayaks to the northwest with no winds to slow us down. Our route passed Sandy Point Campground at 5.4 km. The Wavy Range dominated views to the east.

At 8.9 km we passed the point where the Park Operator’s cabin sits looking over the lake. By going in straight line, we saved some distance and Fairyslipper Island was passed at 11.2 km. There are 4 West Arm campgrounds not far past the island – Leo Island, Birch Beach, Cottonwood, and Tropicana. We paddled down the middle of the lake and found Leo Island unoccupied so we landed and set up a base camp for the duration of this trip, a first day total of 13 km of paddling.

Leo Island has 3 designated fire rings with room for 2-4 tents at each. There is also a bear-proof food cache and an outhouse. The operator had left some sections of windfallen trees for firewood. The beaches are sandy and the water is clear and clean, especially in the fall.

A sandy spit reaches out south from the campsite, but there is another sandspit on the other side too. When I hiked the Central Mountain Trail on another trip, I could see the sand bars on either side extending toward the shoreline of the lake.