At the very end of the Wells Gray road is the boat launch.   Everywhere beyond is best explored in a boat.   We can paddle 21 km north on one shoreline and 21 km back on the other shoreline.   When the river volume drops in August, we can even paddle the additional 2.5 km up to Azure Lake by using back channels, eddies, and some shoreline lining, if necessary.    Azure Lake provides another 24 km of paddling each way.   For a day paddle, though, we can paddle up the lake to Divers Bluff Marine Campsite and back. 12.6 km on the lake.    Any canoe or kayak can paddle up the lakeshore but seaworthy boats are needed to cross the lake if it is windy.  We paddled up the east shore on a smoky day.

The lake was busy with tour groups in canoes as we headed north.

There were no winds so our progress was steady along the shoreline.

The orange-red rocks of the cliffs at Divers’  Bluff can be seen at a distance.

The journey/route to the marine campsite is 6 km, one to one and a half hours of paddling.

We had lunch on the beach then checked the campsites and a short trail on the terrace.   There is also a 1.5 km trail to a lookout, but on a smoky day, we did not attempt it.

On the shoreline were some hooded lady’s tresses (spiranthes romanzoffiana), an orchid.

By late summer, there are fewer varieties of flowers, but daisies and asters continue to bloom until first frost.

On the way back the winds rose so we stayed close to the shoreline and so did this family of mergansers.

We try to paddle Clearwater Lake every year and Azure or Murtle Lake very third year.   Smoky conditions have discouraged us from camping in these remote marine campsites this year and last year so we are waiting for our next clean-air opportunity.

More Information:

• From the Beaches of Clearwater Lake