Paddling our rivers is a matter of picking the right launch and landing spots, the right date and time, and the right weather.

We launched our boats at the end of Harrington Road next to the Golf Course in Westsyde. This spot is a good spot from March through October.  We could have chosen to launch off the end of Dairy Road too and may do that next year.    Landing spots need a bit of beach to land on, then good access for a vehicle to load the boat.   We chose McArthur Island which has enough water at the boat launch area from May through August.

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Any paddling on the rivers requires careful consideration of power boats.   They are frequent on weekends, but if we get an early start, we can finish the paddle before the motorized mania starts.   The North Thompson River gets less traffic so we want to get past Overlander Beach before lunch, or earlier.

We picked a sunny day, but wind is the issue, not clouds or rain.   With no wind, we can paddle downstream at 7 to 9 km/hour.

The route from Westsyde to McArthur Island is about 14km, two hours of paddling downstream, one we will do again every year for as long as we can.