By the end of summer, the McArthur Island boat launch has its gate closed and the lagoon begins to dry out.   In the first week of September, there was just enough water to paddle out of the channel in a kayak.   A week later it would have been a muddy portage.   I exited to the river and aimed the boat upstream, paddling past the east end of Rabbit Island then turned with the current and came down the south side of the island.

The loop around Rabbit Island is about 4km of paddling with some extra effort required on the upstream sections.

the water was very shallow at the boat launch	a narrow channel to get out to the river
the south side of Rabbit Island	gulls on the island beaches

When the river floods in June the island is inundated with water channels, some of which can be paddled.   There are a lot of ducks, geese, and riparian zone creatures on the island in June and July.   By mid-summer the island is high and dry.   We have spotted deer in summer and fall on the island.

Mara Mountain above the river	an old dock washed up at the high water mark
coming around the west end of the island

The island is private property above the high water mark.   We saw tents on the island in early summer though.   The wide beaches on the north side of the island are a popular stop for boaters, all legal since it is below the high water mark.

From the south end of the island it is a 10 km paddle to Kamloops Lake, all downriver.   Another on-the-water route we do is to paddle from Pioneer Park past the confluence of the river, past Rabbit Island, landing at Cooney Bay, a total of 17 km, a 2.5 hour paddle   A two vehicle system is needed for that option.

We do most of our paddling on the river from March through May, then from mid-September to the end of October, the best months for avoiding fast-moving and noise-polluting power boats.   As the water gets colder, we switch to wearing a spray skirt, but the water temperature stays moderate through most of the fall.