backcountry lakes Archives

Palmer Meadows Lake

Posted on September 23, 2019 by Kamloops KayakNovember 29, 2024

Palmer Meadows Lake lies in the hills east of Stump Lake, not far from Dardanelles Lake. It is a dammed lake with the reservoir benefiting waterfowl and ranchers that need summer irrigation. The dam has created a larger lake, flooding copses, meadows, marshes, and low areas. Access is by backroads (Old Kamloops Road > Fraser Road > Palmer Dam Road (no signs) for 14 km. Navigation will be required to go to the lakeshore and there are some high clearance areas along the way. The lake can’t be seen until the last minute and there is no visible public road access and boat launch area. There is a short side road that may be on private property or on Crown grazing lease (or licence) with a gate (close the gate behind you), but paddlers will have to haul their boats down the bank on either side of the dam area. We found two reasonable launch spots on the west side of the lake, although these spots may need permission from land owners or lessees (there is no signage though).

This is a scenic lake with many bays, channels, wetlands, islands, and marshes. Paddling the whole shoreline is an 11.5 km venture.

There are cutblocks on the hills, meadows and pastures, forested areas, cattle grazing areas, and wetlands around the lake. Fall colors had started in early September. There was no one else in the whole area. The nearest person was probably a fisherman on Dardanelles Lake, only 3 km away, but an hour’s drive. I doubt that anyone fishes in Palmer Meadows Lake.

Much of the lake was shallow so there were many ducks in every bay. Loons were on the lake too and raptors patrolled the area. A red-tailed hawk perched on a branch overlooking one arm of the lake.

There was no road access to the east shore of the lake (that I could see), but there was the remains of an old homestead, an isolated spot in the hills.

This lake took over 2 hours to paddle on a sunny, breezy day.

Hosli Lake

Posted on September 29, 2017 by Kamloops KayakNovember 29, 2024

The goal is to paddle all the lakes in our area (except the smallest ones) and eventually we will have done the shoreline of over 100 lakes. Hosli Lake has been on the list for a while, but it is a little harder to get to. The route is to drive to Roche Lake, but turn onto the Bleeker Lake Forest Service Road. Continue past the Rec Site and follow the road mileage markers, ignoring side roads. After Bleeker Lake, the road winds up into the hills and at about 4.5 km, watch for a (flagged) rough side road, bearing west. This final section (0.7 km) is a high clearance road and would be 4WD in spring.

There are user-maintained campsites along the north shore of the lake, also offering good access to launch a boat.

A loop around the lake is about 2.5 km. There is lots of interesting shoreline areas to explore….

The best part of paddling Hosli Lake is that it is remote, so it will be unlikely that we would run into anyone else. The lake was quiet except for the ospreys, ducks, and loons.

The road carries on toward Campbell and Scuitto Lakes. We haven’t driven that 4 km section, but if it is reasonable, paddlers or explorers could do a loop route. Either way, Hosli Lake is a fine destination for a short paddle.

More information:

turn to Hosli Lake – N50 31.780 W120 07.987
there is another side road that runs to the south end of Hosli Lake but we don’t know how rough it is
Bleeker Lake article

White Lake (Cariboo)

Posted on July 11, 2017 by Kamloops KayakNovember 29, 2024

White Lake is a medium-sized alkali lake in the southwest end of the Cariboo. It is accessed by driving west on the Meadow Lake Road past Meadow Lake. The hand lunch area is at the west end of the lake. We drove in from Big Bar Lake on backroads.

There were no homes or grazing fences, nor any evidence of camping or fishing. The lake was shallow and devoid of any visible riparian zone vegetation.

We dipped our paddles into the water and started a perimeter paddle. At a shallow spot, I swirled mu paddle blade through a soupy alginous mass on the lake bottom.

A few bleached logs lined the lakeshore.

On close examination Owe saw that the lake was full of millions if brine shrimp. As we watched below our long kayaks we saw a myriad of invertebrates in the shallows, but also in the muck below. What looked like a barren lake was really a shallow alkali salt ecosystem A few ducks were feasting on the underwater life but watched us warily from the shoreline.

The paddle around White Lake was 7.5 km. Our plan was also to paddle Meadow Lake but the wind dictated a second paddle back at Big Bar Lake instead.

It is unlikely that White Lake is paddled by anyone in any given year. The larger deeper lakes of the region attract campers, fishermen and a few paddlers. Since Big Bar Lake is outstanding, go there first.

East Frogmoore

Posted on September 23, 2013 by Kamloops KayakNovember 29, 2024

In a long-term quest to paddle all of the area's lakes, I picked the Frogmoore Lakes for an afternoon of exploration. This chain of 4 lakes sit at the same elevation as the Surrey Summit, the high point on the Coquihalla Highway. To get to the lake, drive toward Logan Lake and watch for the turn-off on the left onto the Surrey Lake Road. Follow this good gravel up through the hills and under the Coquihalla Highway. The signed junction into Surrey Lake is soon passed and, about 2.75 km ahead, watch for a side road going east. The road into the first two smaller lakes is good, but gets rougher before the third lake.

Paddlers wanting to get into the fourth (east) lake can put a boat into the water at the start of the third lake and paddle across to the east side, then portage the boat over the bank to the channel going east, or they can try to drive to the end of the third lake, but this is definitely a 4WD road. Between the 3rd and 4th lakes is a narrow, shallow channel, but is fine for a kayak or canoe.

Paddle down the channel toward the final lake. It narrows off and it was blocked by logs and debris at one point, so I got out to clear the passage before entering East Frogmoore Lake. Since there is not good road access into this lake, it has a wilderness feel and was very quiet. Lily pads filled the bays and a moose was grazing on the east shore.