By the beginning of February we often see snow start to disappear in the bottom of the Thompson River Valley.   The lowest elevations and the most exposed south-facing areas are the first to clear and the expanded beaches along the river offer hikers an opportunity to walk on the sand.   There are a number of shorter walks along the winter beaches, but the best one is parallel to the Rivers Trail west of the airport.   The route starts at the end of Airport Way.   We walk along the Rivers Trail then bear off toward the beach at any one of several side trails.

Yellow-twigged willows stand beside the Rivers Trail with Mara Mountain directly north.

This is an area frequented by eagles, ospreys, and many other birds.   The eagles stay all winter and can usually be spotted on the bare branches of larger cottonwoods.

By picking the right turns, we can go past an old car dump that some locals call Dale’s Antique Beach.

After walking for two kilometers  along the shoreline we leave the riparian zone vegetation and emerge onto a beach which we follow west toward Tranquille.   Along the way we see wildlife tracks, logs stranded on the beach, winter ice at the river’s edge, and wave sculpted sand/silt banks that lie under the water in spring and summer.

Pools of water and ice form in low spots along the beaches.

The wide beach near the Rivers Trail is a playground for dogs and their owners.   We try to do our return hike along the edge of the river.   Each year is a bit different with varying water levels, the extent of the ice, and the results of erosion events on the riverbanks.   This year our winter beach walk was 7.7 km, a fine 2 hour outing in cool weather.