When we travel to the lakes of our area to the Interior, we usually try to go a lake that is large enough to warrant the time an effort to load up, drive, launch, reload, and drive back. We prefer a lake that has a 5 km shoreline or longer. If we choose a smaller lake, we try to … Continue reading…
Ross Moore Lake is a pleasant lake in the Lac le Jeune area, but its not easy to get to. The best road access is to drive out onto the Brigade Lake Road, then turn onto the Long Lake Road. After the last ranch, the road is not maintained very often so it will requires some slower driving on backroads, … Continue reading…
There are hundreds of lakes to paddle in the area and we try to get out to as many as we can, adding a few new ones to the list each year. From Highway 24 (Little Fort to 100 Mile House area) are dozens of lakes of all sizes, with differing challenges of access. On a summer\s day, we drove … Continue reading…
Access to Minnie Lake and Stoney Lake has been the subject of media attention after Douglas Lake Cattle Company closed down public access 20 years ago. The Nicola Valley Fish and Game Club took up the challenge of public access and after many years in the courts, they won the case. The judgement in the case ordered Douglas … Continue reading…
Dairy Lake is found on the high shoulder of Greenstone Mountain at 1423m (4700 feet). The best road to get to the lake is the Dairy FSR from the Duffy Lake FSR. It is a high clearance road, but a reasonable drive in dry conditions, There is a Rec Site on the west shore of the lake. On a summer … Continue reading…
We padded up Clearwater Lake in Wells Gray Provincial Park to the Diver’s Bluff Marine Campground, then hiked the Eagle’s View Trail. We launched our boats (canoes and kayaks) and headed up the west shore of the lake. With calm conditions we were at our destination in about 75 minutes. From the boat launch at the end … Continue reading…
Otter Lake Provincial Park is situated on the northwest shore of Otter Lake, just north of Tulameen. It can be reached by driving north from Princeton on the Coalmont Road (33 km) or on gravel roads (34 km) from Highway 5A starting near the turn-off to Kentucky – Alleyne Lakes. The park itself is a forested 49 hectare area in … Continue reading…
We camped at Haynes Point Provincial Park to do some paddling in the South Okanagan area. Osoyoos (“narrowing of the waters”) Lake is 18 km long with 2/3 north of the border and the south end in the United States. Haynes Point is one of the “narrowing” points with a shallow passage on the east side of the … Continue reading…
Whitetail Lake lies in a valley in the Purcell Mountains about 28 km from Columbia Lake in the East Kootenays. Access is by the Findlay Creek Forest Service Road near Canal Flats. The final section is on the Whitetail FSR to the Whitetail Lake recreation Site. The lake is a destination for camping and fishing, but we traveled out there … Continue reading…
We drove some backroads out of Invermere to visit Lake Enid, about 6 km west of Wilmer. A small recreation site is there with a good boat launch and a hiking trail around the lake. We paddled the lake and then I hiked the trail around the lake to finish the outing. Enid Lake is not a large body of … Continue reading…
In early May I paddled down the Columbia River from Invermere to Radium, a distance of about 16 km. The river was low and slow-moving except for 3 spots of faster water. Adjacent to the river are many wetlands so birds and waterfowl were abundant along the way. The launch spot was by the Athalmer Bridge at the outlet to … Continue reading…
Pioneer Park is a busy place in the summer, but in fall, the area is much quieter. On the river, the noisy and disruptive power boats are absent. We can return from the high country lakes to paddle up and down the river. On this grey and cool day in October, I pushed out from the boat launch and … Continue reading…
In late fall, we drove out from Barnhartvale on the bumpy Scuitto Lake Forest Service Road for 12 km to the Rec Site on Scuitto Lake. It was a sunny day for a 5.2 km paddle around the lake shoreline. We met pelicans and skeletons along the route. The Scuitto Lake Rec Site has been rebuilt and has designated … Continue reading…
Although we have about 100 lakes to paddle in the Kamloops area , there are many small lakes too, most of which are too small to warrant the drive and the effort and time to load and unload a kayak or canoe. Some are suitable for SUPs, but paddlers would most often prefer a lake that is at least 2 … Continue reading…
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 … Continue reading…
At the send of summer each year, we drive to Campbell Lake to paddle when the pelicans. sandhill cranes, and other migrating birds are on the lake. We have detailed how to get there and where to launch in previous posts: On Campbell Lake Campbell Lake Each year is different. In 2018 we spotted 14 pelicans on the lake … Continue reading…
