The South Thompson River is a great paddling destination, breaking the distance from Chase to Kamloops into three 21 km sections.   We launched our kayaks from the Pritchard Bridge (NW side) on a sunny morning and paddled downstream for 3 hours.

During freshet, the river swells to cover all the gravel bars and so parts of the journey west feels like paddling through a big calm lake, but the current continues to move the boats along at about 7.5 km/hour.

The route passes a series of silt cliffs, eroded remnants of a glacial lake in the valley.

It is best to paddle downriver in the morning before afternoon winds pick up.   A headwind makes the paddle journey longer and more difficult.  Also, power boats start to use the river in the late morning so we can avoid the noise and the river-wide wakes by getting an earlier start.

We pass by Monte Creek Winery, Rivershore Golf Course, the South Thompson Inn, and a number of farms and homes along the route.

There is a small beach/boat launch on the NE side of the Lafarge Bridge.   We left vehicles there to shuttle our drivers back to the launch spot.  It takes a bit of coordination to do downriver paddles, but both of our rivers are worth the effort.   The South Thompson River is a relatively easy paddling route, especially in the spring with a wide river that moves us quickly downstream.

More information:

• Downriver: Lafarge to Pioneer Park
• Downriver: Chase to Pritchard (July 7th)