From Bruker Marina at Tobiano, Rousseau Hill stands above the north side of Kamloops Lake.   This is a great spot to launch to explore the middle section of the lake and all its bluffs, eroded slopes, silt cliffs, gullies, hoodoos, volcanic features, and shorelines.

It is a 2 km paddle across to the far shore, below Peregrine Bluffs.   On this late summer day, the route was across then west along the length of Rousseau Hill to Rousseau Creek.

Kamloops Lake is always scenic, but it can also be windy so paddlers need to have seaworthy boats and have some experience in larger lakes.  On flat water it is about a half paddle across.Peregrine Bluffs rises steeply above the CNR tracks.   We have been able to spot peregrines from  the top by following the guano marks to nests in rocky alcoves..

Just below the CN tracks is a small abandoned shack made from logs and railway ties.

There are a number of different erosion features on the slopes of Rousseau Hill.

The shoreline is rocky with few landing spots between Red Point and the beach at Twelve Mile/Rousseau Creek.

Ragged volcanic features are the highlight of the south side of Russeau Hill.

Below the bluffs are erosion gullies running down to the lake.

The treeless slopes have alternate ridges and gullies right down to the sagebrush.

Our paddle also included an exploration of the abandoned Twelve Mile Ranch acreage, to be shared in a later post.   On the way back we paddled right across the lake just below Balancing Rock

The loop route was about 11 km, another great day on Kamloops Lake.

More Information:

• Peregrine Bluffs to Painted Bluffs