A Guide to Murtle Lake, North Arm

Murtle Lake is the largest canoe/kayak-only lake in North America. it is also a remote spot that takes a lot of time, effort, and planning to provide a good wilderness experience. This article provides some information for paddlers who want to explore the north arm of the lake.

The Trailhead

From Blue River, watch for the Blue River Campground sign on the west side of the highway. The junction to Murtle Lake is at the northwest side of the campground. The road soon turns to gravel and begins to climb up the valleys. The road is narrow and there are a number of blind corners so caution is needed. After an hour of slow progress, the route enters Wells Gray Park and the parking lot is a short distance ahead.

The portage trail is a gravel surface, but has some smaller hills. Some of these hills will be a challenge if boats are fully loaded. For canoes and kayaks, most will use a cart. The Blue River campground rents them or you can bring you own. Think about the possibility of a flat tire in your planning. On our last trips in, there were gear carts at both ends so the load can be separately transported from the boats. The carts have larger wheels and are more ergonomically designed so it is an attractive option, though it means doing the trip twice each way. A poorly balanced load on a cart with small wheels (mine went flat last time) and is heavily loaded is a big challenge over a 2.5 km track. Once in the water, the load won’t be noticed so somewhere in between light and well-stocked is recommended.

At the end of the trail, the path leads down to a dock and beach and above is a storage rack for carts (bring your own cable lock), a registration/payment kiosk, washrooms, and a food cache.

Murtle Lagoon

The first part of the paddle is through a lagoon. Stay on the right side to go through the channel. There are campsites on both sides of the channel as it merges with the lake. Sandy beaches front both sides.

All campsites have shared firepits, an outhouse, and a bearproof metal food cache. There are designated tent pads at each campsite, but people also pitch tents on the beach.

Paddling North

The first campsite up the north arm is Strait Creek. The paddle is about 1.5 hours in normal conditions The campsite has a beautiful beach and good facilities, but it also fronts a wetland so it can be a buggy site. We noted about 4 sites in the trees and room for a number of additional tents on the beach. It is a good basecamp for the Wavy Crest hike which can be started by walking down the beach (after fording Strait Creek). We really enjoyed this site, but it is a popular destination for paddlers because of the location and the beach so plan for an early arrival to get a good spot.

We enjoyed walking up and down both sides of the beach and spotted an osprey nearby in the marsh.

East or West

The lake is narrower above Strait Creek so if the winds are right, paddlers can cross the lake in 20-30 minutes and go up the west side or they can stay on the east shoreline. The next campsite on either side is quite small – 1 or two sites only.

For this article, we will paddle up the east side.

Moonlight Bay

This small campsite is easy to miss unless you paddle close to shore. It is tucked away just south of the point. It is a pleasant spot, especially good for the afternoon-evening sun.

It takes 1.75 hrs at least to paddle north to this site, but longer in windy conditions.

The next leg is around the point and then around several more points as the lake curves northeast.

Eagle Point

This is one of the best campsites on the lake – a good beach, 3 campsites above the lake and room for 3 more on the beach, a central firepit, and excellent views up the lake. When we arrived, we had the site to ourselves for one night and it was dead quiet with no one else on the north end of the lake. On the next day, we saw 5 more couples arrive, but there was still enough space for everyone. One of the nicest things about this campsite is that it is not buggy, sitting on a sidehill with no ponds or flatlands nearby.

Looking north, ragged mountains head the valley:

Eagle Point is about 30 minutes from the end of the lake.

Murtle Beach

At the end of the lake, the Murtle River flows into the lake. The river forms a delta and all the lake is very shallow on the east side. On the west side of the end of the lake, a windswept beach sits in front of a narrow band of trees. A campsite is nestled in the trees. An expansive wetland sits behind the narrow forest band. There are great views, but we found the beach to be littered with debris blown down the lake and very buggy. We can’t recommend this campsite.

Paddling down the west side of the north arm there are three campsites:

Little Anderson

Just north of this campground is a little lagoon divided from the lake by a narrow channel which dries up in summer. It is worth a look. A spit runs along the southwest side and a small islet ends the sandy point.

We had heard that there was a dead moose near the campground and there was a also a sign that there was a bear in the area, so we just took a quick look at the site. It seemed okay, but not as nice as Wavy View or Eagle Point.

Wavy View

This was our favorite campground on the west side. It is a bit larger than the others, is right on the beach, and has a terrific view of the Wavy Range. It will get the early morning sun, but will be in the shade late in the day. The washroom is way up on the hill in the cedar forest.

On the route down to Sunshine Bay is a good view of the Wavy Range mountains.

Sunshine Cove

This small campground has room for 1-2 tents. It is a good spot to camp if winds prevent a crossing of the lake.

The North Arm

The West Arm has good fishing, nice beaches, islands to explore, a lagoon and some interesting hikes, but it also sees many more canoes and kayaks. The North Arm has smaller campsites, less visitors, but more dramatic scenery. It is quieter, less buggy, and more remote. We can recommend the North Arm to paddlers looking for a good wilderness experience.