Author Archives: Kamloops Kayak

Pack and Paddle: Pemberton Lake

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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:

 

Kayaking Bleeker Lake

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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:

 

Knouff Lake

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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.

 

Roche Lake West

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Roche Lake is normally a popular fishing lake, but winter conditions resulted in winterkill in Roche Lake.   As a trophy lake, there are usually lots of campers in both campsites and many boats on the lake.    On a mild June morning I drove to the west campground on Roche Lake and launched the kayak for a paddle of the south end of the lake.

There was one boat on the water, but the fishermen reported no bites and left.     For the rest of the paddle, there was no one in sight.    A loop route to the south end of the lake and back on the eastern shoreline takes about 75 minutes.

This was a quiet and enjoyable paddle.    I will return to paddle the other end of the lake in the summer.   A few moments from the paddle are found in this YouTube video:

More information on paddling Roche Lake can be found in the On the Lakes page (link).

 

Horseshoe Lake

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Horseshoe Lake is a quiet forested lake in Roche Lake Provinicial Park.    There is a good road to the campsite and boat launch.    Both of the arms of the lake are marshy and are fun to paddle in spring or early summer.

A paddle around the lake (including the two marshy arms) is about 2.75 km so I usually go around twice.

On the summer solstice I paddled the lake.    It was busy with fishermen, but I stayed next to the shoreline out of the way.    There were lots of ducks, ducklings, and a family of loons.

A few moments are captured in this short YouTube video:

 

 

Heffley Lake in the Rain

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On a June day I drove up to Heffley Lake for a paddle even though the forecast was not promising.    There was no one on the lake.    It was only a light sprinkle at the start.

After a few minutes the weather moved in and I was paddling in the rain.

I hung in for an hour of paddling.   A few moments of the kayaking on Heffley are captured in this short video:

When the weather is marginal – wind, rain, or cold conditions – it is always hard to know what to do.    This one turned out okay.

 

Kayaking Lodgepole Lake

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Lodgepole Lake is a small lake on the Chuwhels Mountain Road.    there is a BC Rec Site along one shore.    It is a popular spot for camping and fishing.   It is really too small a lake for a good workout, but its a pleasant spot to go around the lake two or three times.

This is a good spot for a quiet paddle followed by a short hike around the lake.

 

Kayaking Badger Lake

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One of our favorite lakes that we paddle every year is Badger Lake.

Badger Lake is at the end of the maintained roads in the hills north of Knouff Lake.    Two roads can be taken, and we usually go up one and return by the other one for a loop route.  More information can be found on the Badger Lake page on this website – Badger Lake.

Badger Lake is almost always a quiet spot and it is even quieter in the back channel.     On this day, the noise of the blackbirds were the only sounds to be heard.    A few moments of the paddle are found in this YouTube video:

 

 

Kayaking Paska Lake

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Paska Lake is a fine destination for kayaking.    It can be a bit busier on weekends, but it is usually fairly quiet at other times.   There is a gravel boat ramp at the Rec Site.

A paddle around the lake is about 4 km.    If the back channel/lagoon is full of water, we can paddle an extra kilometer.   The lagoon is usually navigable in spring.  The first water lilies were blooming in the shallow channel.   By the end of June it will be shallow and full of aquatic vegetation.

There was a light breeze on the lake.    There was a great blue heron, loons, and some ducks on the lake.  There was one other boat on the lake and the campsite was mostly empty at the start of June.

More information can be found on the Paska Lake page (On the Lakes > Paska Lake).

 

Floodlands – Cooney Bay

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By June 1st the river was already dropping a bit, but we can still access the floodlands for a couple of weeks yet.

On this day I paddled west down to Cooney Bay.  There is no beach at high water and the shoreline is packed with floating logs.    The high water extends up the Tranquille River outlet for 150 meters.

After kayaking through Cooney Bay, I paddled upstream through the floodlands

The bays were calm, except for the activity of waterfowl.

It is wonderful to paddle in the floodlands each spring during freshet.

Kayaking Walloper Lake

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Walloper Lake is one of about 50 lakes on a once-a-year paddle list.     There is a small Rec site on the south side, just off the Lac le Jeune Road with a hand launch.

A paddle around the lakeshore is about 4.8 km.   I either paddle it twice around, once in each direction or I paddle one loop then go for a run or hike.

The lake is busier on weekends so a weekday morning is usually a quiet paddle.

On this day I spotted a great blue heron, a beaver, loons, and ducks.   My kayak was the only boat on the lake.

More information – Walloper Lake

 

 

Paddling Pass Lake

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Pass Lake is usually a prime fishing spot and the BC Parks Campground is often busy, but Pass Lake suffered from winterkill and then the hot water encouraged algae growth so the lake was very quiet when I arrived for a paddle around the lake.

I paddled around the lake enjoying the peaceful forested lake in the hills to the northwest of Kamloops.    It was a day for a paddle and a hike so I paddled around the lakeshore, then drove to the trailhead down the road.    We paddle Pass Lake once a year.    Here is a link to more information – Pass Lake.

A few moments on the lake are captured here in a YouTube video:

 

 

 

A Paul Lake Morning

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On a calm morning over the long weekend, a paddle on Paul Lake was the plan for the day (with a short hike afterwards).

For this day the route was a paddle to the east end of the lake down one shoreline and back by the other shoreline, a 5.2 km kayaking route.

The lake was calm for the whole time and there was only one fishing boat on the east end of the lake.    There were two sets of loons, and lots of ducks (mergansers, coots, mallards, and Barrow’s golden-eyes) and geese.

Paul Lake is one of our prime destinations for kayaking and so we paddle there about 4 times each year.

 

Louis Lake

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On a smoky morning Louis Lake was the paddling destination.    It is a marshy lake on the Paul – Pinantan Lake Road with a grassy hand launch area.

It is best to paddle the lake in the spring when there is lots of water in the lake and aquatic plants have not filled in the bays.    It is a marshy lake, and we can see lots of underwater activity while paddling.    There were two loons on the lake so there must be some coarse fish in the deeper sections of the lake.    There were lots of ducks and geese around the lake too.

A paddle around the whole lakeshore is about 4.5 km.

More information – Louis Lake

 

On Inks Lake

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Inks Lake is a small, muddy grasslands lake that seldom has anyone paddling on it, but it is a seasonal home to ducks, geese, killdeer, spotted sandpipers, muskrats, turtles, and shoreline birds.     It is a scenic and quiet place for a paddle.

There are three arms to the lake, and since it is not a large lake, I usually go around twice, once in each direction.

A few peaceful moments are shared here:

 

 

 

 

McConnell Lake in May

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The high country lakes became ice-free and opened up near the start of May so we can now paddle a number of our favorite lakes like Lac le Jeune, Walloper, Paska, Leighton, McConnell, Stake, and others.   On a mid-May day the sun was shining and there was no wind for a morning paddle on McConnell Lake.

McConnell Lake can be a busy spot so its best to launch early in the morning.    I paddled twice around the lake for a total of 5.2 km in about an hour.

More boats were coming in as I finished and there were lots of hikers and dog walkers on the around-the-lake trail.

This is a good spot for a morning paddle and hike.    More information on McConnell Lake can be found on the On the Lakes page on this website.