Horseshoe Lake
There are a number of lakes in the Roche Lake Provincial Park area. Some are easily accessible like Bleeker Lake, Roche Lake, and Horseshoe Lake and some are harder to get to, requiring high clearance or 4WD. Horseshoe Lake Campsite/boat launch is off the West Roche Lake Road and the branch road is clearly signed. The road is a bit bumpy with some potholes, but is suitable for most vehicles. At the end of the road are 4 primitive campsites, a gravel boat launch, and lots of room for parking.
The boat launch starts in shallow waters On this summer day there was no one at the lake.
Much of the lake has a marshy shoreline. Behind the wetlands is montane forest.
Paddlers can go down a number of marsh channels to explore. this one was covered in lily pads and smartweed.
Dragonflies were abundant in the marshes and along the shoreline. This one landed and stayed long enough for me to get a photo from the kayak.
Some of the shallow areas were full of aquatic plants, a great place for fish to hide from predators.
Smartweed was in bloom in some of the shoreline alcoves.
A few lilies were in bloom too, with others emerging.
A small creek on the northeast end filled the lake from Roche-Tulip-Rose Lakes and a dammed channel was draining north to meet Bleeker Creek on its way down to Campbell Creek.
There were many interesting spots to explore around side channels, around reed-rush islands, and in shallow bays. The shallows are full of life and a quiet paddle on a quiet lake is a great way to experience the wetlands.
A paddle around the lake is only about 2.7 km so it is best suited to an exploratory paddle of the wetlands, but it could also be combined with another lake in the area.
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