Tunkwa Lake is a busy place all summer.   The campgrounds are full or very busy, many fishing boats are on the lake, and the off-road group is active in the area.   But, with such an open area and multiple places to launch a boat, paddlers can get on to the lake and stay out of everyone’s way.   Fishermen don’t venture into the shallow bays and Tunkwa has many of them.   I launched in the morning and paddled through large areas of smartweed near the shoreline.

Flocks of ducks also avoided the fishing boats and were watchful for bald eagles (I counted 10 of them).

Bald eagles were perched on snags or flying overhead.   This immature eagle was stationed on a rock near the shoreline.

On this summer day,  I used the main boat launch at the campground and paddled the shoreline, going into each bay, covering about 8 km.

Several of the bays were quieter places, with only my kayak,  a few ducks, and patrolling dragonflies.

Tunkwa Lake is one of our favorite destinations for paddling.   We hope to return in the fall after all the campers and seasonal fishermen have put away their summer gear, leaving the lake quiet and peaceful.