Nicola Lake is windy enough for the Interior sailing community to have based their activities on the lakeside for 20+ years.   The lake is often too windy for paddling, but we can watch the wind forecast and we can pick days to paddle earlier in the morning before afternoon winds arise.

The north end of the lake makes a nice, partly-protected 8-9 km paddle, paddling around both shorelines in a loop.

The lake has steep cliffs on the west side and sloping grasslands on the west side. If conditions are calm enough to appreciate the views, this is a scenic paddling area.

The north end of the lake gives way to wetlands and farmlands.

Along the shoreline red ossier dogwood was in bloom, rabbit brush was starting to flower, and late season wildflowers covered the banks.

red ossier dogwood flowers	red ossier dogwood berries
rabbit brush	common weed with delicate flowers

There is a good launch spot just off the highway with lots of parking.   There are more launch spots near the south end too so paddlers can pick one section of the lake and return to Nicola Lake for another day (the entire shoreline is 43 km around).