One of the best area lakes to paddle is Johnson Lake.   Go north on Highway 5, and at Louis Creek, take the Agate Bay Road.   Turn left onto the Johnson Lake Forest Service Road.   Follow the signs to the Johnson Lake Resort, but don’t turn left at the end of the lake (to the Resort).   Instead, follow the road around the south side of the lake to the Johnson Lake Recreation Site.

There is a gravel launch site at the campsite, but if the site is full, drop off your boat and park up on the road.   The paddle around the lake shoreline is 11km.   Limestone shoals make the water crystal clear down to 20+ feet.   The aqua-green-blue water is similar to Pavilion Lake.   There are a small number of cabins on the northeast side, but for the most part the lake is surrounded by dense hemlock-cedar forest.

On a summer weekend, the beach area by the boat launch will be full of families in the water, and paddlers have now discovered the lake, but it is a quiet location with (almost) no power boats.   This is a lake to paddle every year.   More information:

• Johnson Lake on Kamloopstrails.net
• Johnson Lake East on BC Rec Sites and Trails
• Johnson Lake Resort