There are only 3 reasonable access points to Kamloops Lake – Cooney Bay, Savona, and Tobiano Boat Launch (Brubaker Marina). For paddlers this divides the lake into 3 sections and since this is a big lake (30 km from end to end), each works well for 3 days of paddling each year. To access the middle part of Kamloops Lake, … Continue reading…
One of the first two lakes to clear of ice in late winter is Jacko Lake. It can be a busy place in early spring with a lot of eager fishermen, so it is best to find other places to paddle. But, because it is at a lower elevation and shallow, it is not a great summer fishing lake but … Continue reading…
Stake Lake has clear water, an easy launch, and open scenery, so it is a nice paddle from May through October. When the weather gets hot, the lake is at 1321m (4333 feet) so it is cooler than the bottom of the valley in Kamloops. A paddle around the shoreline is just 2.5 km so we usually do 2-3 loops, … Continue reading…
From 150 Mile House in the Cariboo, the town of Horsefly is a 45 minute drive east and access to Horsefly Lake is another 14 km farther east. Horsefly Lake Provincial Park is on the north side of the lake and it is a great spot to camp and paddle. We launched our kayaks and paddled all the shoreline at … Continue reading…
Walloper Lake is located near the junction of the Coquihalla Highway (Hwy. 5S) and the Meadow Creek Road, 4 km west of Lac le Jeune. The easiest access is in Walloper Lake Provincial Park (created in 1987) where there is dirt road and a boat launch area. The lake is 43 hectares in size and has a maximum depth of … Continue reading…
White Lake is a medium-sized alkali lake in the southwest end of the Cariboo. It is accessed by driving west on the Meadow Lake Road past Meadow Lake. The hand lunch area is at the west end of the lake. We drove in from Big Bar Lake on backroads. There were no homes or grazing fences, nor any evidence of … Continue reading…
Lac la Hache (Axe Lake) is a 2300 ha. lake on Highway 97N in the Cariboo region. There are several access points along the east side of the lake to launch a canoe or kayak, but since the lake is 16 km long, it is impractical to try to paddle the whole lake in a 34 km loop. It is … Continue reading…
Big Bar Lake is located at the north end of the Marble Range on the southwest corner of the Cariboo. the easiest access is to follow the Big Bar Road which leaves Highway 97 eight km north of Clinton. The 34 km road road is a good gravel road passing through rolling forested hills. The best access is from Big … Continue reading…
During freshet, the river runs faster so any downriver route is a quicker paddle. The route downriver from Pioneer Park to Tranquille Bay is 11.65 km and takes about 2 hours. From the flooded boat launch at Pioneer Park, the kayak enters the current and I paddled under the Red Bridge then the CN Bridge. There was not much clearance … Continue reading…
The three best lakes for kayaking in our area are Paul Lake, Heffley Lake, and Lac le Jeune and we set out to paddle the whole shoreline of all 3 each spring. Lac le Jeune also has the smaller lake on the west side of the road, the highlight of a day of paddling in the high country. Paddling around … Continue reading…
When the North Thompson and the South Thompson Rivers rise, the Thompson River expands and the estuary at the head of Kamloops Lake widens into a floodlands. We can launch a canoe or kayak from the BC Parks Lac du Bois Wildlife Management Area parking area. .This launch spot is suitable for canoes and kayaks only during freshet. We paddle … Continue reading…
Every spring we paddle down the South Thompson River in 21 km outings. From the Lafarge Bridge (NE side) we launched our kayaks and enjoyed a 3 hour flatwater paddle from Lafarge to Pioneer Park. Using a two vehicle system, we started paddling about 9:30 am and landed at the boat launch at Pioneer by 12:30. One of the keys … Continue reading…
Once the ice clears off our area lakes we head out to do a circuit of local lakes. The first three to paddle once or twice each are Paul Lake, Heffley Lake, and Lac le Jeune. With cool spring weather we are warm in our kayaks with spray skirts on and we wear paddling jackets to block the wind. When … Continue reading…
tIn spring we start our paddling season on the South Thompson and North Thompson Rivers. The best launch is from Pioneer Park, but we also go to other launch sites to paddle different parts of the rivers. With Valleyview Boat Launch closed for bank repairs, we went out to the Lafarge Bridge beach and paddled upstream in early April. There … Continue reading…
Paddling upstream is always a good workout and part of a spring fitness program, getting ready for longer paddling adventures on the bigger lakes, the rivers, and the ocean in the summer. One route we do every spring is to go up the North Thompson River, which is a bit harder than the South Thompson River. I launched at Pioneer … Continue reading…
Cooney Bay can be a busy place on Easter Weekend with fishermen, dog-walkers, hikers, and families parking at the end of the road past Tranquille, and walking out to the gravel beaches where the Tranquille River meets Kamloops Lake. Getting an 18′ kayak out to the shoreline isn’t easy with a number of logs to get across, but with some … Continue reading…
