One of the best lakes to paddle in our area is Paul Lake.   We launch from the Provincial Park beach and follow the shoreline all the way around.

We can head east or west and our choice is often governed by the wind.

On this occasion I paddled west to Gibraltar Rock, then down to the west end of the lake.

Coming back on the south side, I passed a number of homes, then come back into the park across from Gibraltar Rock.   The south side shoreline is a steep slope covered in trees.

The east end of the lake ends in a shallow, marshy area.   The inlet stream from Pinantan Lake comes in there.   We paddled down the north shoreline past homes back to the park.

The entire loop is about 12.5 km if we follow the whole shoreline, including the bays.   We paddle this a couple of times each year.   It is a quiet spot in spring and the fall, but can be busy in the summer.   We avoid weekends and any time after 11:00 in the morning in the summer.      Winds pick up after about 11:30 so mornings are usually the best time year round.

BC Parks has removed the boat launch ramp from the Park so that only cartop boats can launch there now, but there are still homeowners who have big docks and big powerboats on either end of the lake.   The lake is too narrow for these powerboats which invade the peaceful valley with echoing noise pollution and big waves sent out from the motors, which  continue all the way to the shoreline both ways.   The lake really needs a horsepower limit, but since it likely won’t happen, we just paddle there in the off-season.

Pick a quiet time to paddle this lovely lake.