Category Archives: Kayaking

Paddling Sullivan Lake

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Sullivan Lake is located at the community of Knouff Laje and is often referred to as Knouff Lake.    It is reached by driving up the Heffley – Louis Creek Road (toward Sun Peaks), then turning onto the Knouff Lake Road.   There are three boat launches, but for most kayakers, the ones at either the Rec Site on the west side of the lake or the one a bit farther north and fine for paddling on the lake.

With a resort on the north end and a community on the south end, the lake can be busy at prime times, but on this morning, there was no one else on the lake.

A paddle around the lake is about 5 km.    Large marshes at the north end create bullrush barriers, although I was able to find a narrow Channel through.    There are also a few islands to investigate.

More Information – Sullivan Lake page

 

Paddling Bleeker Lake

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Bleeker Lake is a good spot to paddle in late spring or early summer.   Because much of the lake is shallow, it is prone to draw-down for irrigation and evaporation without much recharge, so aquatic growth takes over the shallows, the shoreline recedes, and winter kill happens in some years,   In spring the lake is recharged and the shoreline can be paddled in a quiet, out-of-the-way spot.

In July aquatic growth was filling in some of the shallow bays, but I was able to launch at the Rec Site and kayak around the lake, a 4.8 km paddle.

The video has footage of the channel on the east end of the lake when it fills in and some drone footage from a drone flight over the lake.

Some Bleeker images are shared here.   Click an image for a lightbox view.

More Information:

Paddling Paska Lake

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Paska Lake is a fine paddling lake from late spring to mid-fall.   At non-prime times, the lake is a quiet spot surrounded by high country forest.

To get to Paska Lake, we drive up the Coquihalla, then turn onto the Meadow Creek (Logan Lake Road).    The Paska Lake FSR turns off farther along, heading north, to a basin in behind Chuwhels Mountain.   A signed turn leads down into the Paska Lake Recreation Site where there is a campground with a boat launch and parking.

A favorite route is to paddle down the lagoon channel that becomes Greenstone Creek.    In spring we can paddle to the end, but as the weather warms up, the lagoon fills with aquatic plants.

On this summer day, the distance going around the lake, including the channel was about 5 km, on the 40th day of paddling in 2022.

More Information:

 

Paddling Lac le Jeune West

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On a grey and drizzly long weekend summer morning I arrived early to paddle the west end of Lac le Jeune.    From the campground I paddled west to the end of the lake, then went through the watery tunnel under the road to the smaller lake.

After paddling around the western lake the route was back through the tunnel and along the south shore, a 5 km route.

The smaller lake is marshier and there is a channel to explore.    A loon chick and some ducklings were dabbling near the rushes and reeds, blackbirds patrolled the margins, and predators flew overhead, but all was quiet otherwise.    This is a must-do each summer.

More information – Lac le Jeune

 

Paddling Lac du Bois

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On July 1st it was a beautiful sunny day and I knew all of our lakes would be very busy with motorboats, fishermen, and paddlers so I opted for less busy spot early in the morning.   To paddle the lake I had to haul the kayak over the fence, then get it down to the lakeshore.    It is awkward to launch a longer boat anywhere on the shoreline since it is so marshy, but with some maneuvering, I launched and paddled the lakeshore.

The lake was quiet, but there were a number of ducks with ducklings, muskrats, birds, and western painted turtles.

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Western painted turtles were numerous and to get closer to them we have to soundlessly glide in (no paddling.  Click an image for a larger view and a caption.

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”15″ gal_title=”Lac du Bois”]

More Information on Lac du Bois.

Paddling Lodgepole Lake

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Lodgepole Lake is small so its a good choice when it is windy, smoky, or rainy.   Whenever I go to paddle there, I go early to avoid competing for space on the lake, but also when it is quiet and peaceful.   Once around the shore is 1.3 km so I usually do 2 or 3 laps.

When I arrived at the lake it was raining, but I launched anyway and it cleared after one lap:

 

More information on Lodgepole Lake (page).

Steelhead Park Launch

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There are 3 or 4 launch spots in the Savona area to paddle the west end of Kamloops Lake.   During freshet some are not practical since the shoreline gets flooded and debris, including logs, fills the launch areas.    The public boat launch in Savona Park was closed and logs enclosed the area so the best launch was off the beach at Steelhead Provincial Park.

On this rainy morning the route was north past where the lake drains into the Thompson River, then north up the shoreline.   On a windy day an out-and-back route might be best, but with little wind it was an easy 1.4 km crossing of the lake.

The loop was completed by paddling down the lake to Steelhead Park, a 7 km paddle around the west end of Kamloops lake:

An Early Paddle on Edith Lake

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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:

Pass Lake

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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

 

A Floodlands Meditation

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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.

Paddling Lac le Jeune

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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

Freshet River Rain

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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.

 

 

Badger Lake in June

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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

 

Paddling into the Floodlands

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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.

 

Paddling Walloper Lake

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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:

 

 

McArthur Island Lagoon Route

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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: