On a hot and smoky day I drove early towards Chase, then up bumpy backroads to the Harper Lake Recreation Site.
There was no one else in the area and all was quiet on the lake.
A paddle around the lake is 3.3 km. There were loons and dragonflies on the lake.
With smoky and hot conditions, once around the lake was perfect. A few moments on Harper Lake are shared in this YouTube video:
More information – Harper Lake Recreation Site (link).
On a hot summer morning I drove up to Monte Lake. The launch on the north side of the lake is the best choice. Right at the north end of the lake turn onto Mill Road and the launch is an obvious spot. It was a busy spot on that morning, but there is lots of room for parking and for launching.
A paddle down the west shore of the lake takes about 45 minutes. The east side has the highway so I usually go down and back on the west side. A train went by while I paddled down the lake.
With burned forest on both sides of the lake, the area seems barren, but is was a calm day, and the lake had loons, ducks, eagles, an osprey, dragonflies, swallows, and a few fishermen.
This is a good lake to wear earphones to block out the highway noise. Ninety minutes of music while paddling Monte Lake…
On a hot summer day I parked at the gate area by Lac le Jeune and then hauled my kayak down to the lakeshore. We have to lift our boats over a fence now, then carry them about 40m down to the lakeshore, then do a muddy launch among the cattails and bulrushes.
A paddle around the lakeshore is about 3.5 km. There is a lot to see, so an easy pace works well for this lake.
On this day there were lots of western painted turtles, ducks and ducklings, geese, loons, blackbirds, marsh wrens, killdeer, and spotted sandpipers. A few of the paddling moments are captured in this short YouTube video:
More information – Lac du Bois
On a hot summer morning I drove southwest past the smoke to paddle Tunkwa Lake. The lake had a few fishermen on it, but it was otherwise quiet. I launched from the day use area.
Tunkwa is a lake created by a dam and it is shallow, making it a popular spot for waterfowl and shoreline birds. On this day I spotted loons, ducks, geese, blackbirds, eagles, an osprey, gulls, swallows, killdeer, marsh wrens, and hawks.
I paddle Tunkwa every year. It takes about 90 minutes to kayak the whole shoreline. A few moments are captured in this YouTube video:
I will be back to paddle nearby Leighton Lake at the end of summer. These two are recommended lakes for paddling.
On a clear summer day I paddled around Pinantan Lake. There are several spots to launch a boat, but I prefer the one at the end of Cridge Road. Drive past the school on Holbrook Road and continue to Cridge Road.
A paddle around the lake is about 4 km.
I paddled up the lagoon channel to the beaver dam and chose not to portage (the lake was low and the route was muddy) to the upper lake.
The lake was peaceful and quiet on a weekday morning. Rockface Mountain stands over the west end of Pinantan in the distance.
More Information – Pinantan Lake
Scuitto Lake is in the running for one of our top 5 paddling lakes in the Kamloops area. The Scuitto Lake Recreation Site is reached by driving out through Barnhartvale and onto the Robbins Range Road, then onto the Scuitto Lake Forest Service Road. There are three launching spots in the Rec Site area.
When Scuitto Lake was dammed, the lake rose and flooded the shoreline and there are still a number of tree stumps and rocks along the shoreline, as well as 3 islands, and some marshy bays. It is a fun lake to explore and we often see various birds and waterfowl on the lake. A few images are shared here. Click an image for a lightbox view and caption.
CFJC TV has a featured content video on kayaking Scuitto Lake Out and About – Kayak at Scuitto Lake.
Pat Lake is a small lake in the Six Mile Hills. It is reached from a bumpy road going off the uphill side of the TranCanada Highway just west of Tobiano. It is a popular fishing lake and it is a busy spot in spring, but by mid-summer it is quiet at the lake.
The road to and under the lake was once the Kamloops to Savona Road. We launch right into the submerged roadbed.
I paddled around the lake twice, once in each direction.
There were loons and ducks on the lake and raptors searching for a meal. This is a scenic and peaceful spot, one we return to paddle every year.
On a summer day that had smoky conditions in Kamloops, I used firesmoke.ca to look for smoke-free areas and I found that areas south were clearer. To get to Glimpse Lake, we first drive to Nicola Lake, then turn and drive towards Douglas Lake. At the power station, we turn left onto Lauder Road and follow it to the lake. The easiest boat launch is the first one on the north side of the lake.
It started with a light breeze down the lake, but the winds picked up as clouds blew in from the southwest. Returning was harder work.
Glimpse Lake is a quiet spot mid-week. There are a number of marshy bays to explore. On the lake were loons, a great blue heron, an osprey, geese, and some ducks. One other boat was spotted as I paddled around the shoreline in 75 minutes.
More information – Glimpse Lake
On a hot summer morning there was smoke in town, but the smoke forecast maps showed clear skies towards Merritt so I drove down Highway 5A past Stump Lake and then up to Peterhope Lake.
A paddle around the whole lakeshore took about 90 minutes, including the lagoon channel and hidden lake off the southwest corner of the lake. A few images are shared here. Click an image for a lightbox view and a caption.
Note that the bladderwort in flower is a carniverous plant, trapping insects in bladders for later consumption.
Peterhope Lake is a favorite, one we paddle every year. A great spot to visit.
John Frank Lake is one of several hard-to-get-to lakes in Roche Lake Provincial Park. Access to Black Lake, Frisken Lake, Bulman Lake, Ernest Lake, John Frank Lake, and Bog Lake is by rough roads. In spring there are giant mudholes. In summer, the roads have big rocks, but we can drive them if we have high clearance (trucks or jeeps, not SUVs), good tires, and if we have the patience to drive very slowly. Most of the lakes in the area suffered winterkill so there are no fishermen out (except on Black Lake and Horseshoe Lake). On a hot summer morning, I drove the rough road to John Frank Lake. There is a small backcountry Rec site on the lake and a hand launch. Most of the shoreline of the lake is marshy.
I paddled around the lakeshore (3 km). I spotted lots of ducks, but also loons, an eagle, and a river otter. Some photos are shared here. Click an image for a lightbox view and a caption.
A few moments of the outing are captured in this YouTube video:
This was a lake I really enjoyed, so I hope to get back, braving the rough backroads. Frisken Lake, though, is upcoming first.
It was smoky in Kamloops but I used the excellent website firesmoke.ca to see the smoke condition in the area and it showed clear skies to the south, especially at higher elevations, so I picked Surrey Lake, one of my favorite lakes to paddle. The roads were in good shape. I turned right at the entrance to Wildlings Resort and followed the double track south along the lakeside. There are two hand launch spots off that backroad.
It takes about 65 – 70 minutes to paddle the whole lake including the two shallow, marshy arms.
There was no one else on the lake on a Friday morning. There were ducks and ducklings, an osprey, a bald eagle, many songbirds, dragonflies, and an assortment of pond creatures in the shallows. Skies were relatively clear and it was warm, but not yet hot in the Surrey Summit area. A few moments of the paddle are captured in this short video:
Chuwhels Lake is in a remote spot between Greenstone Mountain and Chuwhels Mountain. It is accessed by driving up the Greenstone Mountain Road for 15.5 km then turning onto the Chuwhels Road. A 1 km track (unsigned) bears east to Chuwhels Lake.
I put my folding kayak into a pack and hiked in to the lake. The track is driveable, but a bit rough. It is a dammed lake and the lake was down, mostly from evaporation. I assembled the kayak then paddled around the lake, then hiked back out.
Some images from the pack and paddle are shared here. Click an image for a lightbox view and a caption.
Some of the moments of hiking and kayaking are found in this YouTube video:
Hyas Lake is located in the remote hills north of Pinantan Lake. The Hyas Lake Forest Service Road climbs to the bumpy track in to the Hyas Lake Recreation Site. When I arrived, there was one other boat on the lake.
A paddle around the lake takes about 75 minutes. Hyas is one of my favorites, but I also choose a weekday in summer to avoid other boats and campers.
A few moments of paddling the lake are found in this YouTube video:
More information – Hyas Lake
Pemberton Lake is located in the hills to the north of Pinantan Lake. It is a small lake with a primitive Rec Site and a rough 1 km road, accessed from the Hyas Lake Forest Service Road.
I put my folding kayak into a pack and hiked in to the lake.
The launch area is muddy, although there are some firmer spots to the east. I paddled around the lake, repacked the kayak, then hiked back out.
There were fish in the lake and there was an osprey in residence and loons on the lake. There was no one else on the track, nor on the lake.
A few moments of the pack and paddle are found in this YouTube video:
We kayak Bleeker Lake every year. In the last few years it has suffered some winterkill and with dry conditions, it was drawn down for irrigation so the lake has far fewer fishermen, but it is still a fine lake to kayak in spring or early summer.
Aquatic vegetation grows and fills in the bays at either end, but we can still paddle down channels until later in the summer. It is a dammed lake so there are a number of stumps and logs along the shoreline, making it a fine spot for waterfowl. A paddle of the whole lake takes about 75 minutes.
A few moments from my kayaking outing on Bleeker Lake here are captured in a YouTube video:
Sullivan Lake is sometimes referred to Knouff Lake. The community of Knouff Lake is on the southern shore and a short way north is Little Knouff Lake. In terms of geography, it is referred to as Sullivan Lake. We usually get to it by driving up the Sun Peaks Road, then the Knouff Lake Road. We usually return by the Knouff – Vinsula Road. There is small Rec Site on the west side of the lake and a boat launch a bit farther north. There are a number of homes on the southern end of the lake and a large resort on the north end.
When I paddle Sullivan Lake, I usually avoid the area by the homes and the resort. There are some marshy areas to explore and 5 islands. It takes about 1.25 hours to go around the lake in a kayak.
This is a lake I paddle every year. A few moments from this year’s paddle are captured in this YouTube video:
More information on Sullivan Lake.
