Category Archives: On the Lakes

Horseshoe Lake

Kamloops Kayak Posted on by

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).

 

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:

 

 

 

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

 

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.

 

 

Island Lake – Hike and Paddle

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Over the winter I purchased a folding kayak so that I could use a backpack to hike to hard-to-get-to-lakes with a kayak.   The first lake for this adventure was Island Lake, a grasslands lake in the middle grasslands of Lac du Bois Protected Area.

With the backpack on, i hiked from the trailhead to the lake on a faint single track and across the grasslands hills to the lakeshore, about 800m.

At the lakeshore I assembled the folding kayak (the Oru Inlet).    I paddled around the lakeshore,a 1.2 km route.

The ducks were surprised by my boat, likely the only boat to have ever been on this remote lake.

A few moments of the hike and the paddle are captured in this YouTube video:

More backpack and paddle outings are planned for the spring, summer, and fall.

 

In the Drizzle, on Edith Lake

Kamloops Kayak Posted on by

With rain forecast, paddling was sure to be a wet venture.     Temperatures were mild so it was fine to kayak a local lake, but it was better to wear a spray skirt, a paddling jacket, gloves, and a hat.   This was the first day of paddling on Edith Lake.

There was a light rain for the whole paddle and the winds got worse by the end, but it was good to get out anyway, the second day of 5 paddling in the drizzle.   A few moments of kayaking are found on this TikTok video. Click the full screen icon to get a better view.

 

@dsmith941

In the drizzle on Edith Lake

♬ original sound – dsmith941

Early, on Jacko

Kamloops Kayak Posted on by

The forecast was for morning rain so I arrived at Jacko Lake at 7 am and launched my kayak.    There were grey skies, but almost no wind.

On a paddle around the lake I enjoyed seeing ducks – coots, mallards, and barrows golden-eyes, but there was also geese, loons, yellow-headed blackbirds, woodpeckers, and loons.    Birds were exhibiting nesting behaviors, there was a hatch on the lake, fish were jumping, and spring was evident along the shoreline of this lake in the grasslands.    Jacko Lake is one of our best paddling spots.

 

 

 

Paddling Little Shuswap Lake in April

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On a mild but breezy April morning I paddled out into Little Shuswap Lake.

The lake was very low so I used the boat launch on the river just below the bridge.    Shallow water meant following the channel markers out into the middle of the lake, but I was able to paddle over on the north side of the lake after a while.   I returned the same way I paddled out.    In the previous year I could paddle closer to the shoreline.

Some moments from the paddle are found in this YouTube video:

More information on paddling this lake can be found at the On the Lakes page.

 

 

 

 

Kayaking the North End of Nicola Lake

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Nicola Lake can be a windy spot so I wait for a good forecast before driving 50+ km south from Kamloops.     There are a number of boat launches along the shoreline, but the lake was very low, making the launches a bit rocky.

I did a counter-clockwise loop going to the north end of the lake, then around the shoreline to the south.


The cliffs overlooking the lake on the west side have interesting rock formations.    There were ducks, geese, killdeer, and loons on the lake.    This is a lovely lake to paddle when the conditions are right.

A few of the kayaking moments are captured in this YouTube video:

More information on Nicola Lake can be found on the Kamloops Area Paddling Lakes page.  (On the menu bar at the top)

 

Stumped

Kamloops Kayak Posted on by

On a calm spring day, Stump Lake called.    There were lots of fishermen at the lake and the boat launches were packed so I went to a rocky hand launch spot at the north end of the lake.    This is a less interesting area with highway on the west side and homes along the north shore, so I opted for a loop route around the middle-northern half of the lake.

There were lots of ducks and geese on the lake and a few fishing boats, but it is a large lake, so it was a quiet paddle on a fine spring day.    All photos by the author. Click and image for a lightbox view and a caption.

Some moments of paddling on Stump Lake (and a hike there on the same day) are captured in this YouTube video:

 

 

Paddling Trapp Lake in April

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In early April, the ice was off the lower elevation lakes, but windy days limited reasonable padding conditions.    On a cool morning with a steady wind out of the south, I drove to Trapp Lake and launched out into the lake and paddled south, into the wind.

The sheltered coves were still blocked in with ice, but the lake was fine for paddling.    There were lots of birds – eagles, ducks (mallards and barrows golden eye), osprey, hawks, geese, magpies, a meadowlark, and some smaller birds in the trees.    It is a lake that is seldom kayaked, but it has good access off a side road and a paddle around the whole shoreline is 10 km.    I usually paddle the lake twice each year.    Some video of the paddle is included here:

Information on paddling Trapp Lake and other lakes in the area can be found on the Kamloops Area Paddling Lakes page. (Menu > On the Lakes > Trapp Lake)