On the second day of summer the winds were forecast to be strong by 10:00 am so I was on a nearby lake by 8:30. Edith Lake is a good choice in the wind because half of the lake is sheltered by hills.
By the end of the paddle, winds were stronger, but the effort to get in an early workout was successful.
Some short video clips captured the lake before the winds picked up.
Over time there will be a page for each lake we frequent. Edith Lake is done and a link is provided:
On the last day of spring Pass Lake made a good destination paddle. The distance around the lake is about 2.5 km so two loops is a good choice when conditions are right.
The road into the Rec Site was a bit rough, but both boat launches were in good shape.
On this weekday morning there were no other boats on the lake. Blackbirds, a loon, ducks with ducklings, and some shoreline birds were active on the lake.
Pass Lake is one more good choice to paddle, one of about 100 area lakes to explore.
More Information – Pass Lake
When the river fully fills at freshet, the lowlands near Tranquille fill, creating lagoons, bays, and channels among the tall shrubs. We can launch from a parking area near Tranquille and create our own route.
On a calm and cloudy day we are rewarded with reflections in the glassy waters.
On such days there can be a surreal, peaceful experience, best found with a kayak or canoe.
Each year we get about a month of paddling the floodlands, right in our backyard.
Lac le Jeune is one of the best paddling lakes in the area. Access is good – paddlers can launch from the beach, and the lake has a lot of capacity for fishermen and paddlers. Although there is a dedicated boat launch, I usually launch from the beach area instead, going east or west in a loop route.
On this spring day I paddled the east end of the lake, a 5.5 km circuit.
I will be back to paddle the west end of the lake, including the waterway tunnel each way.
More Information on this lake – Lac le Jeune
On a rainy grey morning I launched my kayak from the grass in Pioneer Park and paddled downstream on the surging current of the river during freshet.
It rained for about half of the outing. High volumes of water makes the paddle back upstream harder, especially around the bridge supports.
When it rains we can wear a good paddling jacket and hat and use a spray skirt. We can stay relatively dry, especially on days that are not windy.
On rainy days we actually stay drier when kayaking than we would while hiking. If it is windy and rainy, we take a miss, but this is infrequent in Kamloops.
The road from Knouff Lake to Badger Lake was wet, bumpy, and muddy in early June, but the slow drive is worth the effort to paddle one of our favorite lakes. Because it is out-of-the-way on a potholed road there are only a few diehard fishermen at the lake, and on an early mid-week morning, the lake was very quiet.
A paddle around the lakeshore is about 8.3 km. The highlight is the marshy back bay on the west side.
A short video offers a sense of the peaceful nature of paddling a backcountry lake on a fine day.
The highlight for the day was encountering a turkey vulture in an aspen tree on the edges of the marshes.
Badger Lake is one of our annual destinations, one we will return to paddle for years to come.
More Information – Badger Lake
When the rivers rise in June the lands between the airport and Tranquille flood and we can kayak out and explore the channels.
When its windy out in the river, we can paddle a loop route in the protected bays and channels.
Ducks and geese can be found in the side channels and pocket bays with their young by their sides.
Reflections are at their best when the waters are calm and there are clouds in the sky.
Some video clips are shared from paddling in the floodlands:
Information on where to launch can be found here.
On a calm morning in June I launched my kayak at the Walloper Rec Site and paddled around Walloper Lake.
A loop around the shoreline is 4.8 km.
There were ducks and a loon on the lake, a blue heron in the shallows, and this nesting loon in a small bay.
It was a peaceful paddle (the traffic on the highway is the only drawback for this lake). Little wind made this a lovely day on the lake:
Between morning rain showers and an afternoon thundershower I launched my kayak from the McArthur Island boat launch and paddled down the Thompson River to the west end of the lagoon channel that goes around the island.
With high waters, the boat launch and the channels were full of water. Paddling downriver was quick because of the current.
In some years there can be low clearance between the channel and the bottom of the footbridge and it may be like that again soon. On this day it was easy.
The one obstacle was a flooded beaver dam at the narrowest spot near the west entrance, but I was able to plough my way through the debris on the way up and skirt the dam on the east side on the way down.
The final part of the paddling outing was back upriver which is hard work during freshet. Some moments of the paddling route are captured in a video:
On a mid-May morning I launched from McArthur Island and paddled up the Thompson River. The current was stronger during freshet. At the east end of the Island, I rounded Rabbit Island.
Paddling down the south side of the island is easy and much faster.
Paddling back upstream is harder and a faster paddling rhythm is required to complete the 4 km loop route:
On a grey spring day I paddled around McConnell Lake twice. There were no other boats on the lake, but there was a bald eagle, a loon, some ducks, and fish jumping for insects.
Some of the moments at the lake are captured on video:
McConnell Lake Provincial Park is a lovely spot to kayak, hike, or snowshoe, one we return to a few times each year.
McQueen Lake is not paddled very often, mostly because of poor access. To get to a reasonable launch spot requires hauling the boat to the shoreline where there is a break in the bullrushes. Once on the lake, though, it is a very nice 2.7 km paddle around the marshy shoreline.
I paddled around the lake twice, once in each direction:
All of the lakes of the area would be busy on a Sunday morning, but on McQueen Lake, there was one person only, along with the loons, ducks, geese, blackbirds, marsh wrens, painted turtles, and a muskrat.
On a calm end-of-May morning, I launched my kayak in Pinantan Lake.
The goal was to paddle up the marsh channel toward the upper lake. I had hauled my boat over the beaver dam in the past to get onto the smaller lake, but on another occasion (in summer), it was too difficult. My thinking was that it would be easier in spring when the lakes and channels were full of water.
I got out of the boat, wading in the channel, and then hauled the boat over the barrier and got back into the kayak. At that point I noticed a possible way to portage around the dam.
I did the portage on the way back and it was much easier. It is on the east side of the channel in a small side bay. The weather was calm for the paddle back around the main lake. Later in the day a thunder shower burst into the area so I was pleased to have gotten out early before the storm.
On a mid-May morning I launched my kayak into Neskonlith Lake in calm conditions.
I paddled around the east end of the lake and up the shoreline, then back around the rocky island to the launch area.
On the previous year I had paddled the other end of the lake. A paddle around the whole lake is 11.6 km. By the end of this day’s paddle some light rain was falling and there were some winds. Most of the video clips were taken before the rains:
It was very quiet on the lake on the last day of the long weekend. This is another favorite lake for an annual paddle.
More Information – On Neskonlith Lake
Louis Lake lies in the valley between Mount Fleet and the Paul Lake Ridge (I call it Louis Ridge). The western end of the lake is shallow and as the lake levels fall and the reeds, rushes, and aquatic plants grow in summer, it becomes impassible for a canoe or kayak. But in the spring we can paddle the whole lake. 
There is a hand launch area on the northeast end of the lake across from the Paul Lake Transfer Station. 
Two loops around the lake is 8 km.
It would be rare to see another boat on the lake, but there is a stream of vehicles going by on the Paul – Pinantan Road. On this day there many ducks on the lake and one pair of loons.
All of the lakes are now open for paddling so there will be a different lake for each paddling day until later in the fall.
In mid-May there was wind every day, but on this mid-week day, the wind ranged from calm to gusty so I picked a smaller lake to paddle.
I paddled twice around Isobel Lake, once in each direction, a total of 5 km.
When I started there was no one else on the lake. A few campers were set up at the east end of the lake and there was a school class at one of the docks doing pond studies. Otherwise, it was quiet with only the sound of blackbirds, ducks, frogs, and the wind.
The lake becomes weedy in summer so spring is a good time to paddle there, before the crowds, and when all is quiet. Some video clips follow: