In winter when the weather conditions warm up, we have a number of hikes on “winter beaches.”   One of those is the North Thompson River, starting at the end of Schubert Drive.    We park and go down a trail to the beach near the Halston Bridge, then walk south along the frozen river.  

The beach is wide in winter and the river is frozen on the top, but the water is still flowing downstream in the main channel.  

After about 1.5 km the beach gets narrower and some open water is visible.   At the point where the beach narrows and disappears for a while, we climbed the bank and hiked back on the Rivers Trail.  

All photos taken by the author on a sunny, but windy day.    Click an image for a lightbox view.  

Between the Rivers Trail and the beach is a cottonwood and red ossier dogwood jungle, colorful and interesting.  

A YouTube video is shared here with some clips from the loop route on the North Thompson River: