The North Thompson River rises in the glaciers of the Premiers Range west of Valemount, flows east to the Monashees, then is steered south and down the North Thompson Valley. Many rivers flow into it – the Albreda, Mad River, Thunder River ,Blue River, Mud Creek, Raft River, the Clearwater River, the Barriere River, Jamieson Creek – and many other streams and creeks. It flows steadily south to Kamloops at 3-4 km/hr. It is joined by the South Thompson River in Kamloops, the outflow of Shuswap Lake and all its feeders. Starting from Kamloops, the paddler can paddle either river upstream for days north or east, but few will choose to paddle upstream for more than an hour. Its hard work above all.
But we do choose to paddle upstream every week:
We embrace the challenge as a strength and endurance workout.
While we are still fresh, we find a steady rhythm of strokes, without a break until our turn-around point.
We pick one side of the river for the way up, and the other side for the way down.
The first half is all concentration, a focus on precision, balance, and finding the aerobic threshold.
The second half, on the flow downstream propelled by the current, is easy, meditative, a reward for all the hard work upstream.
The best (paved) road into the north end of Mabel Lake heads east from Enderby, following the Shuswap River upstream. Be sure to stop to at various points (Cooke Creek, Skookumchuk, etc.) to look at the river along the way. As you approach the lake, the road really ends at the RV Park/Golf Course/Airstrip/Resort and there is some limited access to the lake there, but there is a good access at the marina which sits at the mouth of the river.
Mabel Lake is a large lake – 35 km long. There is no road along the west shore and only a Forest Service Road along the east side north of Mabel Lake Provincial Park starting at the south end.
We enjoyed paddling out into north end of the lake. For a short paddle, aim north towards Tsuius Narrows and cross the lake to the mouth of Tsuius Creek, then follow the shore south to Cottonwoods Beach. There is a 20 site BC Forest Service Campsite there with a sandy beach.
For a longer paddle, the north end of the lake is about 14 km. Noisy Creek campsite is on the west shore.
The Shuswap River rises high in the Monashee Range on the west side of the Monashee Divide behind Mt. Begbie, Blanket Mountain, and the Greenbush Basin. It flows south into Sugar Lake, and south then west towards Lumby. At Shuswap Falls, it turns north and continues until it flows into Mabel Lake. Twenty five kilometres north, the river flows out of Mabel Lake into a two kilometre section called the Skookumchuck. Coming out of the canyon, the river runs for 36 kilometres down to Enderby, where it again turns north and meanders through the farmlands to Grindrod, then northeast to Mara Lake. The waters channel through Sicamous Narrows into Shuswap Lake. It is a long journey with a number of opportunities for paddling.
The section featured here is the leg from below the “Chuck” to Enderby. The Skookumchuck is best left to whitewater experts. Below the rapids, there are a number of hand-launch areas to pick from. The first is at Brandt’s Landing, a small BCFS camp area across from the Three Valley Road. We found this site a little tight for parking and launching so we chose a site a short distance downstream next to “the mailboxes”, where there is ample parking, a beach and a back eddy for easy launching (approx. N50 36.569, W118 46.500). Further down, there is also an excellent launch area at the Cooke Creek campsite.
The first few kilometers travel through canyons and high-banked wooded forest. Some of the sections feature faster water and a few bumpy rapids, but nothing serious. There was a cable across the river at one point warning paddlers of a sweeper on the river curve, so we portaged around the spot, but we saw that we could have paddled close to the shoreline on the south side instead.
We were lucky enough to paddle the route during the salmon run and the entire 35 km route was a journey passing through the sockeye and chinook’s migration upstream. Fisheries staff were carry ing on studies on the river, eagles and kingfishers sat on snags, scavenger birds pecked at the dead fish, a bear prowled the shoreline, and salmon constantly jumped into the air. In shallower gravels, females waited for males before laying eggs. In water about 1m – 1.5m deep, a line of red sockeye swam upstream. Larger black speckled chinook also joined the parade. In the shallowest sections, we had to be careful not to strike the fish with our paddles.
The water is incredibly clear so we could see the sockeye, chinook, and trout in the river below the kayaks in almost every part of the river. The first half of the route runs through clear waters. The middle section of the river is dotted with many islands, the river bottom is siltier and the river runs slowly, but is still clear and weed-free.
The entire paddle is 35-36 kilometres to Enderby. On the top part of the paddle, the river runs quickly and straight. With the current and paddling we were able to maintain 9km/hr. When we hit the middle section, the river runs slowly and requires more paddling. There are many beaches and sandbars in this section, any of which make a good place to stop for lunch. The lower section of the river meanders through farmlands, although there are also two short sections of fast water in canyons. The final few kilometers wind through the pastures to the southeast of Enderby and the river’s current is slowest here. We landed at the bridge in Enderby. It took us 4.5 hours to cover the 35km journey.
There are many signed hand launch spots along the road so a paddler can pick a shorter route. A recommended shorter section would be to launch at Cooke Creek and pull out at the Trinity Bridge (Ashton Creek). A two-vehicle system is needed, but we have often thought of launching, then landing at journey’s end, locking up our boats, and calling for a taxi ride back to our vehicle. There is actually a drop-off, pick-up service for tubers in Enderby for the “float season.” If you try this method, you will need to exit near a landline, though, since mobile phones have no coverage up this valley.
This section of the Shuswap River is why kayaks and canoes were invented. Include it in your ‘(paddle) bucket-list.”
Rabbit Island sits out in the middle of the Thompson River not too far away from McArthur Island. Deer overwinter on the island, boaters land here in the summer, and an occasional camper sets up a tent on the island. The island shrinks from the middle of May to the middle of June. In late fall to early spring, it is possible to wade through the river channel from McArthur Island. Much of the middle of the island is open grass and a few trees, but the northeast corner is more dense and the northwest corner is overgrown.
One way to check out Rabbit Island is to launch your boat at McArthur Island and paddle up river to the tip. The riverbed is higher on the northside and the river tumbles down at the east end to the deeper south side. If you paddle into the cascade, you will be pulled down and around the south side of the island. The south shoreline of the island is steeper and this makes a more challenging landing. Coming around the west end and then up the north side of the island, you will parallel broad sandy beaches.
To explore the island, just beach anywhere on the north side. Go inland and follow game trails and tracks that wind among the trees and around the low spots. In the later spring through summer, these are filled with water and in late June, are bug-brewing ponds.
You can paddle about 3.6 km around the island and then hike about 2.5 km on the island for a a day on the Thompson River.
Community Lake is known as an excellent fishing lake in the high country. A 10-site BC Forest Service Recreation site on the southwest corner gives good boat launch access. For the paddler, this is a pleasant spot. There are many small islands and some bays to explore. By following the shoreline and touring around islands, about 2.5 km of paddling is here, and on this last visit, two circuits provided enough exercise for the afternoon. Loons and ospreys were seen. From one point, the west meadows of Tod Mountain rise in the east. Along the shore the amphibious smartweed was in bloom dotting the shallows with pink knots of flowers (its also called knotweed).
After paddling, I drove some of the backroads and I could see that many kilometres of mountain biking are also available. Google Earth shows roads dividing out, but extending down to Badger Lake, and up over the ridges towards Louis Creek.
To get to Community Lake, take the Knouff Lake Road and after 9km turn onto the (signed) Community Lake Road and follow this good 2wd road up to the lake (almost 6km). The lake sits at 4500 feet so dress accordingly.
Although I have only been to Stevens Lakes once, I hope to get back there again. It can be done in one long day, but it also takes some preparation. I was lucky enough to have hired a fishing guide who took us in for the day. I remember the long back road route, then the long hike in. We went in and out in a single long day, but if I return, I’d prefer to backpack in and spend at least one night at the lakes. I would do this after the bug season because both the route in and the lakes area is low-lying and wet. I will bring fishing gear because everyone will catch his/her limit at this remote spot. Preparation is required to figure out the best route in. We used the backroad system going up the Raft River Forest Road (Rd. 9), then the Raft-Ritchie Forest Road and continued on for a total of 51 km before parking at a high and remote spot. Detailed descriptions for this route are found in Roland Neave’s Exploring Wells Gray Park.
Today, Wells Gray Provincial Park advertises a route that goes up the Flank of Trophy Mountain, then winds around the back and over to the West Raft Creek Road past Skeeter Lake. My assumption is that since this route is within the park, it is signed. That exploration is yet to come. Google Earth shows this route and hopefully it is quicker and better marked than the traditional route.
When we went to Stevens Lakes we enjoyed the gentle trail (downhill) into the lake. Canoes are left at the campground at South Stevens Lakes for use so we paddled out and started fishing. We had each caught our limit in 30 minutes and fish were jumping all over the lake. This would be a quiet and pleasant camping spot for one or two nights.
Stevens Lakes sits in Indian Valley, a wet area between Battle Mountain and Murtle Lake. All three of these areas are special in their own right and deserve to be explored more than once.
We paddled the North Thomson River Flood Channel in spring. This is a paddling spot that few people know, partly because it is mostly invisible from roads and partly because it can only be paddled at high water. Put your boat into the water at any of the river access points off Banks Road. We went down from the end of Cooper Place, but there are several launch spots in this area. Paddle across the river and enter the channel at the south end directly opposite Garnet Road (at N50 45.530 W120 20.324) paddling upstream for one mile in the back channel. Watch for beavers, shore birds, and an eagles nest. Emerge from the channel at a narrows and float downstream to your launch spot.
We have also launched from the hand launch at the bottom of Harrington Road.
One of the easiest put-in points is at the Pioneer Park boat launch. There is lots of parking, a good launch site, and easy access into the river but there is one drawback. In the warm weather it is a crowded and noisy spot – not a great launch site with power boats, jetskis, and way too many vehicles. Except in full flood, the river can be paddled upstream fairly easily, especially if you stay on the south side. Up the river to the end of the Gregson Trail and back is a good paddle.
Another good launch spot is the Valleyview Boat Launch just on the west end of Thompson Drive. Again you can paddle upstream and back, or if you have a two-vehicle system, you can paddle one way down the river to Pioneer Park, or beyond to McArthur Island or even the airport seaplane port. An enjoyable paddle is to launch at either the Lafarge Bridge on the north side or even the Pritchard bridge (north side) and paddle downstream to any of the points noted. On my last three paddles, lots of geese and ducks were nesting on the shoreline, eagles perched on tree branches watching the river, swallows soared over the banks and I enjoyed seeing all of the riverfront homes on the river.
