On a mild and calm day on the second day of spring, I drove down the bumpy road to Cooney Bay, then hauled my kayak down to the shoreline of the estuary. I launched in a shallow channel and worked my way out to Kamloops Lake. There were swans, geese, ducks, and gulls in the channels and on the lake. With no wind and the sun breaking through clouds, it was a perfect day for a paddle. I padded around Cooney Bay then continued along the bluffs going west.
The goal for the day was to paddle around the base of Battle Bluff, then turn around and paddle back the same way.
Kamloops Lake is often a windy area so when the forecast is for no wind, Kamloops Lake, Nicola Lake, Little Shuswap Lake. or Stump Lake are on the list for a longer paddle. This one was about 1.5 hours. the next time I paddle the lake, it will be from the west end. Some images from the paddle are shared here. click an image for a lightbox view.
There are 3 or 4 launch spots in the Savona area to paddle the west end of Kamloops Lake. During freshet some are not practical since the shoreline gets flooded and debris, including logs, fills the launch areas. The public boat launch in Savona Park was closed and logs enclosed the area so the best launch was off the beach at Steelhead Provincial Park.
On this rainy morning the route was north past where the lake drains into the Thompson River, then north up the shoreline. On a windy day an out-and-back route might be best, but with little wind it was an easy 1.4 km crossing of the lake.
The loop was completed by paddling down the lake to Steelhead Park, a 7 km paddle around the west end of Kamloops lake:
On a calm September day, I hauled my kayak down to the river near Cooney Bay. I use some wheels which attach to the back end of the boat and pull it down the pathway, lifting the boat over some logs. At this time of year the shoreline of the river is muddy so paddling boots are a good choice. It is only a short paddle from the launch beach to the lake.
I rounded the point at Cooney Bay and looked back at the morning sun, shining through scattered clouds.
I try to avoid paddling Kamloops Lake in the wind, but on this day, only a light breeze came across the lake from the southwest. I paddled around a rock bluff, then past a shingle beach.
Battle Bluff rises 324 m (1063 ft.) from the lake to the top.
contI paddled around the base of the bluff, noting the high water mark on the rock.
It is about 1 km under the cliffs to get to the west end of Battle Bluff. There are no landing spots. With some wind, the waves rebound off the rock, providing choppy conditions.
At the west end of Battle Bluff, the shoreline is series of sloped under the Fredrick Bluffs. Across the lake, the rocky hills are continuous to the benchland near Tobiano. The hill between Cherry Bluffs and Tobiano is called Roper Hill.
Battle Bluff, Dewdrop Ridge and all of the rocky slopes on the north side of the lake are built up on a series of lava flows. On the east side of Battle Bluff, basalt columns rise above the shoreline, an older lava flow than the rocky hills above.
In Cooney Bay, pelicans were feeding by the mouth of Tranquille River. The flock was settled on a sandbar up the river, but small numbers of pelicans flew down to feed where the river met the lake.
Kamloops Lake is a favorite place to paddle, but the road in is potholed, the haul to the river is hard work, and winds on the lake can be difficult. Still, I try to get onto the lake when I can. In this particular day, I paddled about 8 km in fine conditions.
During freshet, the lands near Tranquille flood and we can paddle the bays and channels on both sides of the river. We have to wait until the water rises above the fences which is usually the end of May. I launched from the parking area near the junction of the road into Tranquille and the Tranquille Criss Creek Road and paddled out and cleared the fence into the bay.
It was a calm day and the hills reflected into the lagoon.
Willow stands rise above the floodlands like small islands.
We can paddle right down to Cooney Bay, but on this day, I paddled through the bays and channels in a clockwise 6 km loop.
The water is fairy still in the bays and back channels. but the river continues to run down to the lake. On other days, i paddle across to the other side and go up the channels to create a loop route. On this day, I wound through channels on the north side of the river.
The pasture in from of Mt. Mara becomes Mara Bay with the mountain reflected in the still water.
The floodlands provide the best paddling of the year in June each year. We will be back a few more times.
When freshet arrives the low-lying floodlands fill with water and we can paddle out from the Tranquille Wildlife Preserve into Tranquille Bay.
An early start often means no wind. At about 11:00 am the winds start and will be stronger yet by noon.
“Islands” of shrubs stand in the floodwaters.
The Thompson River and Kamloops Lake become one larger lake at this time of the year.
I paddled 2.5 km to the far side and entered a flood channel on the south shore. A series of channels can be paddled for another 2.5 km east.
At the east end of the flood channels there are some side channels, some of which can be used to get back to the river. This lagoon by the old pumphouse had a number of geese in the shallow water. I portaged across the grass for about 10m to get back to the river.
I paddled downstream and crossed the river to the north side, entering more flood channels, working my way back to Tranquille Bay.
The whole loop was 9.7 km, 2.5 hours of paddling through the flooded lands. After the river crests more birds, fish, insects, and other animals will settle into the area. We spotted osprey, hawks, ravens, crows, blackbirds, geese, ducks, and some small birds this time. On other explorations of the floodlands we have spotted river otters, beaver, muskrats, carp, herons, seagulls, western painted turtles, and pelicans. On the shoreline we have spotted bears, coyotes, and deer. Raptors patrol the skies. The Tranquille Wildlife Preserve is a wonderful place to explore in flood season.
I paddled out of Cooney Bay in April and instead of heading out into the bay and then farther out to Kamloops Lake, I chose to paddle upstream into the shallow river channels and explore the delta sand islands. At low water, the river divides into 3 channels near the mouth before entering Kamloops Lake. The main channel is about 2/3 of the way across to the other side. The water moves more quickly there and is deeper. On the north side of the mouth are two channels, the one closest to Cooney Bay and one shallow channel farther over. In between the channels are a number of sand islands. At low water, the islands dry out, some with a few logs or other debris. I paddled up the first channel, past the gravelly beaches and cottonwoods by Tranquille.
I paddled up the first channel and then down the second one, watching for shallow spots since its no fun to ground the boat. I turned the corner at the lake mouth, then went up the main channel, paddling against the current and landed on a sand island.
I explored the island, examining debris and tracks. There were lots of bird tracks (mainly seagulls), but there was also a river otter tracks that started at one end of the island and went across to the other side. I have spotted river otters in this area a few times, especially during freshet.
I paddled over to the next island and explored it too. I tried wading through shallow water between the islets, but the super-saturated silts were like quicksand, with my boots burying deeper with each step.
After exploring 3 islands. I paddled to the south shore then looped back through deeper water in the lake to the launch spot at Cooney Bay. All of these islands will be covered in water by now and will have to wait until mid-fall to dry out again.
We are lucky to have access to this area, but it is rarely explored, except by a few who kayak into the lake.
Painted Bluffs Provincial Park lies on the north side of Kamloops Lake east of Copper Creek. Access by land is difficult, but it can be done from the Copper Creek Road just below the Sabiston Creek Road junction (link). We have been in to Painted Bluffs five times in the last 2 years, with the last time by kayak from Savona. We paddle on Kamloops Lake a few times each year, but we always check for weather conditions before heading out. Typically the lake is calm in the morning and winds arise after 11:00. Strong winds may be difficult for paddlers and they are often at their worst at about noon. A crossing of the lake is about 2 km.
There is an official boat launch on the west end of Savona, but we hand launched from the former Savona Provincial Park area not far from the mill instead. Access to the parking area and the beach below is blocked by large boulders so we parked on the side of Savona Access Road, then hauled our kayaks down to the beach (using rear wheels). The beach is rocky but this is no problem in calm conditions. We launched and then angled northeast to the far shore. The paddle to Painted Bluffs is 6.5 km.
It takes about 1.25 hours in calm conditions to paddle across the lake and up the shoreline past Copper Creek. The whole route over and back is very scenic.
There is a good beach/shore for a kayak landing. We pulled our boats onto the beach and hiked up across the train tracks and into the bluffs. As we approached the ragged ridges and gullies, there was very little vegetation below the cinnabar, iron, and copper infused slopes.
There are no trails, but with some light scrambling we can go over ridges to gullies that can be hiked or we can hike up the narrow eroded ridges.
All exploration is limited by eroded green (copper) red and orange (cinnabar and iron) ridges Over the years we have clambered over all parts of the park.
The outing was on 9/11 and only by serendipityI spotted and took a photo with N11 in it.
Every trip into Painted Bluffs is a bit different because of changing light conditions. Ragged shapes and patterns can be seen, depending on the angle of the view and the light. No matter how many times I hike in Painted Bluffs, my sense of wonder is never diminished.
We paddled back just as the winds came up and we had about 1 km of concentrated paddling with waves coming out of the southeast. We came under the shelter of Six Mile Hill and then paddled west along the south shore of the lake back to Savona.
This is an outing that we try to do every year. The combination of paddling on Kamloops Lake surrounded by its scenic, rugged hills and hiking in Painted Bluffs is a prime Double Feature for our summer.
From Bruker Marina at Tobiano, Rousseau Hill stands above the north side of Kamloops Lake. This is a great spot to launch to explore the middle section of the lake and all its bluffs, eroded slopes, silt cliffs, gullies, hoodoos, volcanic features, and shorelines.
It is a 2 km paddle across to the far shore, below Peregrine Bluffs. On this late summer day, the route was across then west along the length of Rousseau Hill to Rousseau Creek.
Kamloops Lake is always scenic, but it can also be windy so paddlers need to have seaworthy boats and have some experience in larger lakes. On flat water it is about a half paddle across.
Peregrine Bluffs rises steeply above the CNR tracks. We have been able to spot peregrines from the top by following the guano marks to nests in rocky alcoves..
Just below the CN tracks is a small abandoned shack made from logs and railway ties.
There are a number of different erosion features on the slopes of Rousseau Hill.
The shoreline is rocky with few landing spots between Red Point and the beach at Twelve Mile/Rousseau Creek.
Ragged volcanic features are the highlight of the south side of Russeau Hill.
Below the bluffs are erosion gullies running down to the lake.
The treeless slopes have alternate ridges and gullies right down to the sagebrush.
Our paddle also included an exploration of the abandoned Twelve Mile Ranch acreage, to be shared in a later post. On the way back we paddled right across the lake just below Balancing Rock
The loop route was about 11 km, another great day on Kamloops Lake.
When the winds are calm, Kamloops Lake is one of the best paddling spots in the Interior of B.C. The rugged hills on both side of the lake provide a scenic backdrop for paddling along the shoreline. On this last outing on the lake in mid-September, I chose to Launch from Tobiano, at Bruker Marina. There is a $10 fee to park there and launch from the boat ramp/beach area. The marina is protected by a log breakwater providing flat water for a start to paddling. On this day, I paddled east along the south shore toward Cherry Bluffs.
The hills near Tobiano are mostly silt bluffs with wide gravelly beaches.
Large glacial erratics stand on the beaches left by past ice ages.
The gentle rounded hills of the Tobiano area give way to a more rocky shoreline as I paddled east.
The area near Cherry Creek has a gravelly alluvial fan from hundreds of thousands of years of spring floods.
Just past the outlet for Cherry Creek, the rocky hills of Cherry Bluffs loom overhead, a good point to turn around. After paddling I drove down the Cherry Creek Station Road, a narrow, steep gravel road that winds down to the CPR at Cherry Creek. There is access to be beach from the parking area there, but it means crossing the rail tracks. Cherry Creek had flooded this spring and had eroded away banks along its course. The lower end is already shaped to these floods and is rich in deciduous trees and shrubs, now turning colour with the approach of fall. This will be a wildlife corridor throughout the year.
Across the lake 2 km away on the north shore is the small lakeshore community of Frederick.
The paddle down from Tobiano to Cherry Bluffs and back is 10.6 km. It is best to pick a day without strong winds which tend to blow down the bottom of the river valley from east to west.
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.
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.
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
We chose to paddle from Cooney Bay to Savona at the end of October. The forecast looked good, but at the last minute there was a warning about winds from the east, a tailwind for the paddlers.
With an escape route (at Tobiano) in mind, we started early in the morning. We had chosen to paddle the south shore of the lake. I had paddled most of the north shore at one point or another, but the shore shore had always been across 1.6km of lake, so we were interested in what we would see. We also kept Tobiano in mind if the winds became too strong.
We crossed the 1 km section from Cooney Bay over to the south shore without too much difficulty, although we knew right away that the wind was going to be a challenge. The winds were blowing right down the lake and this made paddling easier and we were making good time.
Along the south shore, we were impressed by the train tunnels and the stone walls supporting the railbed. The stones were clearly quarried. We wondered how old they were? One of the walls had been recently reinforced with concrete pillars. Another featured a classic arch (see photos below). Just about the whole route to Cherry Creek had a sheer rock slope rising right from the lake.
As we proceeded down the lake, the winds increased and we were surrounded by 1-2′ waves. Our kayaks rose and fell as the waves overtook us. I checked my GPsr and we were averaging 7km an hour assisted by the wind. When the shoreline was parallel to the winds, the going was fast, and paddling was straightforward, similar to paddling in the ocean with the current. When the shoreline angled out with rocky points, there was much more difficult paddling. As the waves pounded the shoreline (with breakers), waves rebounded back and slowed down the waves coming in, and these waves mounded up into 2-3′ waves. We found ourselves between whitecaps in the center of the lake and active breakers closer to the shore. In between there was a comfort zone, where the waves ran straight, but we paddled farther out from the shore. When we had to angle out into the lake, we had to cross the wave barrage at 45 degrees, which was manageable as long as we anticipated the waves over our right shoulders, paddling into and bracing into the oncoming wave. We were breached a few times, but as long as we kept our focus, we made good time down the lake.
We chose to make a beach landing at Tobiano on a nice sandy beach. There is a road down to the beach, a boat launch ramp, and a gangway down to a floating dock there. No one was around on a windy end-of-October Saturday morning, but we were glad to have a spot to have lunch and dry out.
From the Kamloops Airport to Six Mile Point is a straight line of unimpeded open water. The winds pick up speed down this corridor. We launched and found ourselves in 3′ waves. Looking over at my friend Russ, I would lose sight of his kayak as he dipped into the troughs and then be carried aloft again. As I paddled and a wave lifted me, the front 4′ of my kayak would be out of the water. We could surf the waves if we paddled hard enough, but after a minute or so, the wave would steam ahead, leaving us in the trough again, looking over our right shoulders for the next wave.
The most difficult challenge was when the corner of a wave passed us and we slid off the edge. This would tilt our boat at an angle. We could brace for this (if we saw it in time) but at times it caught us unprepared and we fought to keep from being turned siideways in the shifting waters. A combination of angled waves and a rudder out of the water (on the backside of the wave above the trough) might cause us to be spun about, and then the next wave swamped the boat. With spray skirts on, most of the water swept away, but we got wet nonethless.
The angled sweep out around Six Mile Point was achieved by paddling hard and anticipating the waves. A few rogue waves broke onto the kayaks in this section. Who would be out paddling in such weather?
Kamloops Lake can be divided into two sections with the east end aiming northeast and then at Six Mile Point the lake angles southwest. Rounding the point was like being on a different lake. Six Mile Point acted as a natural breakwater for the whole shoreline down to the west end of Savona. We found the next section leisurely. The shoreline near Savona has many shallow sections so we paddled out farther into the lake, but still only encountered smaller waves. The landing at the boat launch was a welcome sight after 5 hours on the lake.
The scenery on the lake is outstanding. The route is a long one, and best suited to a calm summer day. But on those days, there will be other boaters and a lot of shore activity. We saw eagles and shoreline birds, but no boaters, and no one else in sight. We will return for a Savona to Kamloops paddle up the north shore, hopefully with no wind.
The floodlands provide the best paddling of the year in June each year. We will be back a few more times.
The whole loop was 9.7 km, 2.5 hours of paddling through the flooded lands. After the river crests more birds, fish, insects, and other animals will settle into the area. We spotted osprey, hawks, ravens, crows, blackbirds, geese, ducks, and some small birds this time. On other explorations of the floodlands we have spotted river otters, beaver, muskrats, carp, herons, seagulls, western painted turtles, and pelicans. On the shoreline we have spotted bears, coyotes, and deer. Raptors patrol the skies. The Tranquille Wildlife Preserve is a wonderful place to explore in flood season.
