Chuwhels Lake is in a remote spot between Greenstone Mountain and Chuwhels Mountain. It is accessed by driving up the Greenstone Mountain Road for 15.5 km then turning onto the Chuwhels Road. A 1 km track (unsigned) bears east to Chuwhels Lake.
I put my folding kayak into a pack and hiked in to the lake. The track is driveable, but a bit rough. It is a dammed lake and the lake was down, mostly from evaporation. I assembled the kayak then paddled around the lake, then hiked back out.
Some images from the pack and paddle are shared here. Click an image for a lightbox view and a caption.
Chuwhels Lake track
folding kayak at Chuwhels Lake
Chuwhels Lake
Some of the moments of hiking and kayaking are found in this YouTube video:
Dairy Lake is found on the high shoulder of Greenstone Mountain at 1423m (4700 feet). The best road to get to the lake is the Dairy FSR from the Duffy Lake FSR. It is a high clearance road, but a reasonable drive in dry conditions, There is a Rec Site on the west shore of the lake. On a summer day I drove these backroads to paddle both lakes.
On a previous day of exploration I had driven from Dominic Lake down to Dairy Lake. That was a 4WD road and not recommended.
There is a good hand launch spot at the BC Recreation site to start a paddle around the forested lake. It is 2.8 km of quiet paddling in the high country. I thought about doing this loop twice, once in each direction, but I decided to load up the kayak instead and drive down to paddle Duffy Lake too.
There is a more developed (and busy) BC Recreation Site on Duffy Lake with a boat launch on the northeast corner of the lake.
I paddled around the shoreline in a 2.7 km loop.
This is a less peaceful spot than Dairy Lake, though. ATV’s/motorcycles were active all around the lake and nearby. The site is maintained by the Greater Kamloops Motorcycle Association which has developed and maintained a well-organized trail system (link) and Rec Site (link). I have hiked some of these trails and they are fine for a forested walk in the hills on a weekday, but there are many quieter choices away from the motorized crowd.
I put my folding kayak into a pack and hiked in to the lake. The track is driveable, but a bit rough. It is a dammed lake and the lake was down, mostly from evaporation. I assembled the kayak then paddled around the lake, then hiked back out.
