On a calm spring day it was time to haul the 18 foot kayak down to the rivershore at Cooney Bay and launch out onto the lake.
The plan was to paddle around the point and into Cooney Bay, then along the shoreline past Battle Bluff, then cross the lake and return by the other shore, stopping to enjoy various highlights along the way.
This was an 11 km paddle taking about 2 hours. A video was complied of the journey.
More paddling is planned for Kamloops Lake in the upcoming months.
Cooney Bay can be a busy place on Easter Weekend with fishermen, dog-walkers, hikers, and families parking at the end of the road past Tranquille, and walking out to the gravel beaches where the Tranquille River meets Kamloops Lake. Getting an 18′ kayak out to the shoreline isn’t easy with a number of logs to get across, but with some rear wheels and some extra effort, the kayak was ready for launching from the muddy beach. The route was around the point where quite a few fishermen had lines in the water. A wind out of the east created some chop, but once the kayak was in Cooney Bay, it was calm. Loons were actively diving in the bay.
Following the scenic shoreline is the safest route out to Battle Bluff. The route out to the far end of Battle Bluff and back is 7.2 km.
Along the way, swallows were swooping over the water, ducks, and geese were along the shoreline, and crows and magpies flew along the beaches. A headless small hawk floated in the water. Coming back around the Battle Bluff point, a river otter rounded the corner then dove below the kayak. An eagle circled above. Bighorn sheep sat on the hill watching the show.
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The winds were forecast to pick up by late morning so I turned around and followed the shoreline back to the landing spot. This is a favorite route. On a less windy day, a good route is to cross the lake (if you have a seaworthy boat with a rudder) and come back by the south shoreline.
More information:
White pelicans have been spotted in the Tranquille Wildlife Protected area and in Cooney Bay over the past 3 years. These large birds migrate to the BC Interior over the spring-summer, then return to the southern U.S. for winter. A full grown pelican can stand 5 feet high and have a wingspan of up to 9 feet, the second largest bird in North America.
They usually work together in small flocks, to drive fish toward waiting bills, consuming about 2 kg of fish each day. They breed in March-April and nest a month later. They nest in colonies and the chicks leave the nest after about 4 weeks. The pelicans we see in our area are non-breeding birds. They are here to feed on the fish coming up the Thompson River. A popular spot is right where the river empties into Kamloops Lake. In 2013, they could be seen from
In the fall, they can be spotted on migration routes from the Cariboo, on their way south. A flock of 10 spent a few days in Campbell Lake at the end September.
One of the best photos of local pelicans was captured by Mike Anderson (link). A few shots taken by me from the shore and from kayak are also shared here.
 On Campbell Lake at the end of September |
 Cooney Bay in September |
 On Kamloops Lake |
 In the flooded Tranquille Wildlife Management area |
 Near the mouth of the Tranquille River |
Every year we paddle Kamloops Lake and are surprised to see so few boats. Its mostly a problem of access. Any boat can travel downstream from Kamloops, but motorized boats have to be careful of the sandbars all the way down. It is too far for canoes or kayaks to go all the way down or go back up, so we have to rely on 3 main access points.
Usually we paddle from Cooney Bay. We drive towards Tranquille and take the left fork, passing by the entrance and continuing along a potholed road to a parking area. At high water, the beach here disappears, but it is a fairly good spot to launch your boat otherwise. Mosquitoes are a nuisance here from June 20 to late July since the area behind the bay floods. From the launch spot, paddlers round the point into Cooney Bay. Beyond Conney Bay are several good landing spots. One of the best is at a point right before Battle Bluff. A large golden eagle sat on a tree at the end of the point when we landed there. Battle Bluff rises vertically out of the lake at 3.5 km from the launch point. A few nesting birds swoop out of niches above. The next spot after Battle Bluff is at Frederick.
The best access point to Kamloops Lake is at Savona at the town park or at the provincial campground. A route can be paddled past the outlet to the Thompson River, then up the lake towards Copper Creek. A very worthwhile destination is Painted Bluffs Provincial Park. This takes about 1.5 hours each way to paddle, depending on wind conditions.
A new access point is now available at Tobiano. Paddlers can pay at $10 fee to park at the lakes edge and launch. Its nice to now have a place to access the middle of the lake.
