In the back valleys between Shuswap Lake and Adams Lake are a chain of lakes. Hummamilt Lake is the largest and a superb lake for paddling. To get to Hummamilt Lake, follow the North Shuswap Road past Anglemont on the way to Seymour Arm. Pass Albas Provincial Park and turn up the Celista Creek Forest Service Road (may be called Ross Creek FSR). At 9.7 km, watch for a small Rec Site and a hand launch.
The launch area is in a small bay near the outlet and passes through a zone water lilies.
Hummamilt is a long narrow lake. There are some small islands and 3 narrow channels on the way to the end of the lake.
Both sides of the lake have steep forested slopes. The entire paddle up one shore to the end and back on the other shore is 25km, a long paddle, but a scenic one. When I was there on a weekday, there were no other boats and no campers at the two Rec sites.
On the way back, the winds rose and the paddling was harder, but the snowy ragged Anstey Range peaks were right ahead coming down the lake. Loons, ospreys, ducks, and dragonflies were the only other occupants of this remote lake.
A loop route is possible and had been planned, but I blew a radial tire and without a spare, I was reluctant to continue on to Stukemapten, Mowich, and Adams Lake, coming down Holdings Road to Agate Bay. That will be another trip, with a stop to paddle Mowich Lake. Hummamilt Lake is worth the long drive though, especially on a nice day with no one else around.
The South Thompson River from Chase to Kamloops provides excellent downriver paddling. We can divide the river route into 3 sections (based on accessible launch/landing sites) – Chase to Pritchard, Pritchard to Lafarge, and Lafarge to downtown Kamloops. We paddled from Lafarge to Pioneer Park in mid-June.
The paddling is all easy and the only issue is avoiding a lot of powerboats. By getting an early start, we were able to avoid most of the motorized traffic. Most boat owners are considerate and slow down when passing canoes and kayaks (but not all). The silt cliffs rise above the shores of the river.
There are many riverfront homes in Dallas and Valleyview. Behind them, Sunrise Mountain stands among the wispy clouds over the south shore of the river.
Mt. Peter and Paul stand over the north side of the river as we approach downtown Kamloops.
The river section is 20 km from the launch area next to the Lafarge Bridge to the boat launch at Pioneer Park. We are very lucky to have two rivers running downstream to the “meeting of the waters,” making fine downriver paddling for us from March to November.
It was raining on the West Chilcotin Plateau. While traveling east on Highway 20 there was a break in the weather right at Nimpo Lake, so I found a boat launch and paddled out into the quiet lake. There was no wind and no other boats on this larger lake.
It is too big a lake to go all the way around (27km) so I chose a loop through the middle, going around 3 islands. Birds kept me company along the shoreline and loons were on the hunt on the lake.
The Coast Range was in sight 30 km to the west, and the Itcha Ilgachuz Range could be seen 40km to the north, but the terrain of the area is mostly trees on a rolling plateau at 3700 feet.
Nimpo Lake is the Floatplane Capital of B.C. but no planes took off or landed until after I was finished paddling. It is a destination fishing area and there are a number of resort accommodations on the lake, though all were quiet on a weekday in June. I scouted out some more lakes for exploration in a kayak – Charlotte Lake, Tatla Lake, Punzi Lake, Tatlayoko Lake, and a lot of smaller lakes too, all earmarked for future trips.
The drive to Bella Coola and back has long been a call-to-explore and a week was set aside into the calendar for the tour. It is 740 km each way so I got an early start on a Monday morning. The road is paved all the way to Anaheim Lake so I proceeded along the route, stopping for gas as needed. The gravel section started just before Tweedsmuir Provincial Park and there were no vehicles along the upper section of the park. The weather was fine and I stopped at some trailheads in the park to scout out future hikes. Wide views were impressive at the top of Heckman Pass and I proceeded carefully down the Big Hill. I was happy the road was dry and I wasn’t pulling a trailer on this daunting 16 km section of road.
The Bella Coola Valley was impressive with steep-sided mountains all around, glaciers and snowfields above, and waterfalls and creeks entering the valley into the Atnarko and Bella Coola Rivers. All of the campgrounds in Tweedsmuir were still closed and there were no vehicles at all in the upper valley. This is a coastal cedar-hemlock wet coastal zone forest with fast-flowing streams and dense green forest.
In the middle part of the valley, Hagensborg is a small community with Norwegian immigrant history. There were some services, regional parks, and a nice ambience to the area. Coming into Bella Coola was a bit surprising. The community is in a beautiful setting, but seemed a bit run-down. I drove past the town out to the Government dock where the ferry used to land, then beyond to a small regional park for a view out the North Bentick Arm.
I drove through the town and looked for a gas station. The one gas station was closed and though I wanted to stay in Bella Coola, I had to drive back up the valley where I ended up paying $3.84 a litre! A big disincentive to staying in town. I decided to looked for a camping spot near the western edge of Tweedsmuir Park. I spotted this this old homestead along the way.
I had noted some possible camping spots on the western side of Tweedsmuir Park and I settled on a spot by Burnt Bridge Creek, very near the end of the Alexander Mackenzie Heritage Trail.
The weather was mostly clear on day one. The moon was shining over the Coast Range in the middle of the night..
An early morning start and I had choices to make – paddle in the Bentick Arm or on a lake up in the Chilcotin? The weather was changing and I didn’t want to drive the Big Hill in the rain, so I made the decision to head east. The Big Hill is very steep, unpaved, and has drop-offs at the shoulder all the way to the valley floor 4000 feet below. I carefully drove the 16km section to the top at Heckman Pass. At the top is a viewpoint back across the Coast Range above the Bella Coola Valley.
The upper part of Tweedsmuir Provincial Park has high (5000 feet) wet meadows and small lakes.
The plan for the day was to hike the first part of the Rainbow Range Trail in the morning.
Just before the trailhead, I spotted two silver-backed grizzly bears stumping along the meadows not far from where I had planned to hike. There were no other vehicles around and I was hiking alone. So, I drove on.
It started to rain west of Anaheim Lake. I chose to drive east to attempt to outrun the weather. At Nimpo Lake, the weather cleared a bit so I found a boat launch and paddled for 2 hours on this peaceful lake.
At the end of this pleasant paddle, the weather started to deteriorate. The plan was to turn down to Tatloyoko Lake to hike, paddle, and camp for a day or two. When I reached the turn-off, the rains had resumed, but more heavily now so rather than tent in the rain, I continued east. The weather really came in after that.
My plan to paddle Charlotte Lake, Tatla Lake, and Tatloyoko Lake and to hike around Tatloyoko was rained out. I continued east. At Riske Creek I turned down toward Farwell Canyon. The roads were muddy by this time and I passed quite a few loaded logging trucks. I stopped at the Sheep Junction Park trailhead and went for a walk along the track, but the rain discouraged any further exploration. This will be a return bike/hike.
Farwell Canyon was in a grey weather zone, but it was nice to see the hoodoos above the Chilco River.
In the end, I drove all the way home. The planned 5 day trip to Bella Coola and the Chilcotin took only 2 days. It rained for the next day and a half after that. The road trip was quick, but it was fun to see all the villages, Reserves, ranches, rivers, lakes, and mountains along the way. This became a “scouting trip” for a return (summer) trip to hike and paddle sometime in the future.
In spring we paddle downriver, enjoying the green corridors of our valleys in our kayaks and canoes. We choose to go before the noise and wakes of powerboats take over the rivers.
We paddled from the public beach at Chase on Little Shuswap Lake to the Lafarge Bridge, a total of 40.5 km.
Banana Island Provincial Park makes a good stop for a break. Even at high water, there is a small beach on the north side of the island.
About halfway along the route is the Pritchard Bridge. There is a good landing spot on the northwest side of the bridge.
The next 20km downstream is steady paddling all the way to the Lafarge Bridge. There is a good landing beach on the northeast side. For most paddlers, half of this route will be a good choice. Pick a nice day with little wind in May, the first half of June, or September to avoid power boat traffic and noise.
Other good (and easy) downriver sections are Lafarge to Pioneer Park, Pioneer Park to Cooney Bay, and Harrington Road in Westsyde to McArthur Island, all scheduled for this year.
There is a chain of lakes in the upper Deadman’s Valley and Snohoosh Lake is the largest of them. It is a long, narrow, and winding lake bordering the Deadman – Vidette Road. From the Trans Canada Highway, we have to drive 38 km to the south end of the lake. The backroad continues to wind around the shoreline of the lake for another 4.4 km. At the north end of the lake is a Recreation site with a hand launch in a small bay.
The paddle down one shoreline to the end and back to the launch is 8.5 km. At the south end of the lake is the outlet to Deadman’s River where the water pours over a small dam.
There are only a couple of cabins on the roadside of the lake; the rest of the lake has willow, red ossier dogwood, wild roses, alder, and birch next to the water and pine-fir forest above rising up the slopes on both sides. In two hours on the lake, no vehicles could be heard and there were no other boats on the lake. Loons, ducks, American dippers, and swallows were spotted on the lake. Small schools of fish swam below the kayak in great numbers. This is a peaceful spot.
Other lakes we can paddle (or fish) in this quiet back valley are Deadman’s Lake and Vidette Lake. There are Forest Service Rec sites at all 3 lakes.
When the North and South Thompson Rivers rise from the spring melt, the boat launch at McArthur Island can be used to access the Thompson River.
During freshet, the volume of watyer increases and the current is stronger. Once we enter the river, we look for slower water to progress upstream. The north side shoreline can be followed towards Overlander Bridge, a good workout. We enter the main flow and go across the river to come down the channel on the south side of Rabbit Island. The current is slowest next to the island.
At the west end of Rabbit Island, we turn the corner to come back up the shoreline. The current is slower right next to the island, although the water is quite shallow. We enjoy paddling right around the island. When the river is very high, some of the interior channels of the island fill with water and we can explore them (article).
The Rabbit Island Circuit is about 6 km. We could do an extra lap around the island or go downstream farther and could easily extend the paddle to 10km. The upstream sections add a good strength and endurance workout.
One of the best paddling destinations we try to do every year is Clearwater Lake. The boat launch is at the very end of the Wells Gray Corridor Road. Beyond the launch is 22 km of wilderness lake with treed shorelines and snow-capped mountains rising above. Along the shoreline are a few wilderness marine campsites. We have enjoyed going to the far end of Azure Lake and paddling back 45 km over several days. For a day trip, though, we head up the lake past the curving eastern shoreline below Easter Bluffs.
Once we have gone up the lake a few kilometers, the views start to open up. We can see Mt. Huntley at the end of the lake. Azure Lake lies beneath the mountain and to the northeast. It drains into Clearwater Lake by a short section of the Clearwater River.
If the winds cooperate, we go up the lake and then cross to the other side to Divers Bluff. This is the deepest part of the lake. Campers at the marine campsite there sometimes dive off the bluffs into the lake on a warm summer day. There is a 1.5km trail to the top of the bluffs too. We landed on the beach for lunch. The bay there is sheltered from the winds coming down the lake.
We returned down the lake back along the western shoreline. Thunder heads started to form over Chain Meadows and the Easter Bluffs in the boat launch area.
Paddling Clearwater Lake is best done in a seaworthy kayak or canoe. Winds often come up in the afternoon and it can be more challenging. We stay close to the shoreline when the winds come down the lake.
On this day we had tailwinds helping us back to the launch, but a thundershower burst over the last leg, bringing hail and rain.
Several articles on Azure Lake too; type Azure into the Search Bar
The route up the shoreline to Divers Bluff and back is about 13km, taking about 3 hours. There are two beaches at campsites along the route and we spotted two other small beaches for potential landing spots too. Small waterfalls and streams enter the lake from both sides. We paddled this loop in May when there were no power boats on the lake. The only sounds were the calls of birds and a few rumblings of thunder. We will be back for an extended paddle on Clearwater Lake.
One of our best paddling lakes is Lac le Jeune. The ice comes off in the spring and we can paddle there in April, but at 4200 feet, we usually go to the lower lakes and the river first. Later in the season it is a busy place as boaters and fishermen fill the lake. Early in the season it is a quieter destination for a 9.5 km paddle.
We enjoy paddling both lakes, going through the water tunnel under the road. The smaller lake to the west has extensive marshes. Yellow and red-winged blackbirds and marsh wrens filled the reeds and bullrushes with sound. A hatch must have also been in progress because fish were jumping all over the west lake.
When the winds pick up, we usually avoid the larger lakes, but Lac le Jeune is higher on the Interior Plateau so the winds are not the gusting cross-valley east-west winds found at lower altitudes. We followed the shoreline, ducking into the lee of bays when we could. For local paddling Lac le Jeune, Paul Lake, and Heffley Lake are our three best choices for the spring (for many return outings).
One of the best lakes to paddle in our area is Paul Lake. We launch from the Provincial Park beach and follow the shoreline all the way around.
We can head east or west and our choice is often governed by the wind.
On this occasion I paddled west to Gibraltar Rock, then down to the west end of the lake.
Coming back on the south side, I passed a number of homes, then come back into the park across from Gibraltar Rock. The south side shoreline is a steep slope covered in trees.
The east end of the lake ends in a shallow, marshy area. The inlet stream from Pinantan Lake comes in there. We paddled down the north shoreline past homes back to the park.
The entire loop is about 12.5 km if we follow the whole shoreline, including the bays. We paddle this a couple of times each year. It is a quiet spot in spring and the fall, but can be busy in the summer. We avoid weekends and any time after 11:00 in the morning in the summer. Winds pick up after about 11:30 so mornings are usually the best time year round.
BC Parks has removed the boat launch ramp from the Park so that only cartop boats can launch there now, but there are still homeowners who have big docks and big powerboats on either end of the lake. The lake is too narrow for these powerboats which invade the peaceful valley with echoing noise pollution and big waves sent out from the motors, which continue all the way to the shoreline both ways. The lake really needs a horsepower limit, but since it likely won’t happen, we just paddle there in the off-season.
A good early-season paddle is to launch at Pioneer Park and paddle down to the Confluence of the two rivers, then take a sharp right turn right to go up the North Thompson River. It is never an easy paddle upstream, but we look for the slowest water on the river, crossing back and forth, sometimes progressing quite slowly. This is a good early-season workout.
Mt. Paul stands above the Kamloops Indian Reserve on the eastern shore.
Cottonwood-lined Schubert Drive and the Rivers Trail in North Kamloops follows the western shore to Halston.
It takes about an hour to paddle up to the Halston Bridge and beyond to the CN Bridge. A train was crossing the bridge as I paddled underneath and around the pylons.
There are extensive sandbars and shallows along the North Thompson River. Along the eastern banks are signs of beaver activity, including a lodge, several belly slides, and chewed off willows and red osier dogwood. Great blue herons stood on the shoreline and bald eagles watched from the cottonwoods.
This is a hard workout paddling upstream on the North Thompson, but it is an easy paddle back down to the confluence. The hard work starts again, paddling back upriver to the Black Bridge, then the Red Bridge on the way to Pioneer Park.
Early in the season there is no one else on the river. It is a good workout to paddle the 10.6 km route, half of it upstream into the current, but it is part of developing a base of paddling endurance for the year, running this year from February to November.
The South Thompson River is a well-used and busy river from June through mid-September, but there is very little activity on the river after October 1st. The river is lower and has a number of shallow areas, troublesome for power boats, but these pose no problem for canoes and kayaks. We launched our kayaks at the Lafarge Bridge (NE side of the river) and paddled down to the Valleyview Boat Launch.
This section of the river is 14km long which takes about 2.5 hours of paddling. There are a number of homes on both sides of the river along the way, but it is a quiet area on a weekday morning, late in October. Fall colors lined the banks and there were lots of geese, ducks, eagles, and a variety of smaller birds in the riparian zone.
Even though the air and the water are cooler in the spring and the fall, those months invite us for a day of quiet paddling downstream.
Paddling down the Shuswap River is a delight at any time, but it is a special experience during the peak of the salmon run. The sockeye spawn in the gravel shallows in the upper river. The river is full of red-colored sockeye and black-headed spring salmon, most moving upstream, but some in redds near the shore, some leaping out of the water, and some dead ones along the shore. Eagles, seagulls, and crows line the shores scavenging. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans was there in river boats and on the shoreline counting fish and monitoring. As we paddled over the fish, we had to be careful not to collide with the salmon in numerous shallows.
It would be nice to launch at Mabel Lake, but the rapids in Skookumchuk Rapids Provincial Park have Class 111 – Class 1V whitewater for 3 km. The Shuswap River has 10 hand launch sites from Mabel Lake to Mara Lake. Most have a sign at the turn-off, parking areas, and a good spot to launch and many also have outhouses and picnic tables. We launched at a designated hand launch site at Hupel, 29.5km by road from Enderby.
The route from Hupel to halfway between Cooke Creek and Dale’s Hand Launch is mostly Class 11 water, but has some short sections of Class 111 too, all very doable, although there are some narrow spots and some obstacles too, so this section is for experienced paddlers. The river becomes slower as it continues to Enderby. For this last venture, we chose to exit at Riverside Hall, just past the Trinity Valley Bridge, a total of 26 km.
The river below Ashton Creek is slower and runs through farmlands. On a previous day of paddling, we went all the way to Enderby, taking out at the bridge (link to story).
Paddling with salmon at the height of the migration on their four year cycle is a unique experience. We watched the fish and their predators with fascination as we quietly paddled downriver. This is a good time to carry an underwater camera, but it is not easy to get a good photo of the fish while moving downstream in a kayak or canoe. It is probably easier to do this from the shoreline with a bit of wading (Cooke Creek is a good place to do this). Along the way, we stopped for lunch in Shuswap River Islands Provincial Park, a section of oxbows, channels, islands, and sandbars. Cottonwoods line the riparian zone in this protected area. The upper river has an unspoiled feel to it and the huge sockeye run is indicative of a healthy river, even in rising temperatures.
We have penciled in a return paddle in October of 2018 to meet the next generation of salmon as they return to the Shuswap River.
Tunkwa Lake is reached on the the Tunkwa Lake Forest Service Road from Logan Lake (15km) or from Savona. The lake lies entirely within Tunkwa Lake Provincial Park. Follow the paved road to the campground and look for the gravel launch on your left.
The lake is a busy fishing lake so paddlers can choose a quieter time to stay out of the away of fishing lines. The shoreline is often shallow or choked with underwater weeds. Early in the season, paddlers can do the entire 8.5 km shoreline, but later in the year may choose to skip or skirt the long inlets and shallow areas. The lake is surrounded by grasslands. The east shore has a few cabins. Fish swam in the shallows in this stocked lake. “Toonqua” Lake in local Indian dialect means “Goose” Lake. On this September day, there were many ducks and geese on and around the lake. A good place for a quiet paddle.
From Tobiano we can launch our kayaks and canoes into Kamloops Lake and then paddle across the lake for 2.2km to Peregrine Bluffs. This rocky rib is called Peregrine Bluffs because peregrine falcons nest on the cliffs. Look for the guano on the rocks for their nests. The north side of Kamloops Lake is rocky and there are no homes between Frederick and Copper Creek, but the whole route is scenic.
As we paddle west, we pass by the impressive cliffs of Rousseau Hill, then Rousseau Creek Valley. Continuing along this 7 km route, we pass the remnants of the 18 Mile Ranch (sometimes called 12 Mile) near Jaleslie (a railway name) on an outwash plain. The hills resume as we travel west to Painted Bluffs. There will be no one on the shoreline or in the hills above, but we spotted bighorn sheep on a ridge. Painted Bluffs is a good spot to stop for a break, lunch, and some exploration. There is a large beach here at low water, but even at high water, it is still a good landing area.
The paddle from Tobiano to Painted Bluffs is 9 km each way. It is a rewarding route, but care must be taken to go in calm conditions. Kamloops Lake can have strong afternoon winds. Kamloops Lake gets little fanfare, but it is a superb paddling lake in good conditions.
Mahood Lake lies in the western edge of Wells Gray Park, but must be approached from the west, so from Kamloops we drive to Little Fort (95 km), then west on Highway 24 (Interlakes) for 70 km, then we turn north at Sheridan Corner onto the Horse Lake Road, then the Mahood Road (8000 Rd.) for about 40 km to Canim Lake, and finally east for 15km to the west end of Mahood Lake. This takes about 3 hours. It can be done in a day, but the campsite at Mahood Lake is worth a night or two of paddling and hiking.
On this last trip to Mahood, I launched from the boat launch/beach at the end of the lake and headed down the lake to camp at one of the marine sites 21 km away to the east. The winds were light at the start, but soon heavy winds came in from the northwest, so I beached about 1/3 of the way down the lake.
On this September day, the campsite was empty, the few cabins east of the campground looked locked up, there was no one on the lake, I was paddling solo, the temperature had dropped, and there was snow on top of Mount Mahood. With a choice of braving the winds downwind, waiting the winds out on the shoreline (it actually blew for 2 days), or turning back, I decided to turn the kayak into the wind and work my way back, a slow paddle in strong headwinds. Safe back at the launch, I went for a hike to Deception Falls and the Canim River Trail, but left Mahood Lake with the goal of paddling the whole lake another time.
