The high country lakes became ice-free and opened up near the start of May so we can now paddle a number of our favorite lakes like Lac le Jeune, Walloper, Paska, Leighton, McConnell, Stake, and others. On a mid-May day the sun was shining and there was no wind for a morning paddle on McConnell Lake.
McConnell Lake can be a busy spot so its best to launch early in the morning. I paddled twice around the lake for a total of 5.2 km in about an hour.
More boats were coming in as I finished and there were lots of hikers and dog walkers on the around-the-lake trail.
This is a good spot for a morning paddle and hike. More information on McConnell Lake can be found on the On the Lakes page on this website.
We can usually expect to paddle in the floodlands area near Tranquille by the end of May. High water lasts for 2 – 6 weeks, but usually it has receded by the end of June. On May 12, I was able to launch my kayak into the floodlands using a hand launch in the Tranquille Wildlife Management parking area. There was enough water to paddle over the tops of barbed wire fences. Many of the channels were full of debris, but there were also open water channels out to the river.
Later in the season we can paddle across the river and go up more floodlands channels on the south side of the river. A 10 km loop through the floodlands is possible during freshet.
A few moments of the morning of paddling are found in this YouTube video:
The forecast was for morning rain so I arrived at Jacko Lake at 7 am and launched my kayak. There were grey skies, but almost no wind.
On a paddle around the lake I enjoyed seeing ducks – coots, mallards, and barrows golden-eyes, but there was also geese, loons, yellow-headed blackbirds, woodpeckers, and loons. Birds were exhibiting nesting behaviors, there was a hatch on the lake, fish were jumping, and spring was evident along the shoreline of this lake in the grasslands. Jacko Lake is one of our best paddling spots.
On a mild but breezy April morning I paddled out into Little Shuswap Lake.
The lake was very low so I used the boat launch on the river just below the bridge. Shallow water meant following the channel markers out into the middle of the lake, but I was able to paddle over on the north side of the lake after a while. I returned the same way I paddled out. In the previous year I could paddle closer to the shoreline.
Some moments from the paddle are found in this YouTube video:
More information on paddling this lake can be found at the On the Lakes page.
The first day of kayaking for 2022 was March 2. In 2023, colder weather kept ice on the river and when it started to break up cold winds prohibited comfortable paddling. By March 12, we had signs of spring coming and on March 14 the winds were about 10 km out of the east. Boat launch gates were still locked so getting to the water was more challenging, but can be done at a couple of spots. In this case, there is a new concrete boat launch ramp at Pioneer Park so that was the location for the first paddle of the year.
The launch was easy, wearing a dry suit and neoprene boots for cold-water protection. The paddle upstream was slower with a headwind and a current.
The first few paddles will all be on the river – upstream, downstream, and at other launch spots. All efforts will de dependent on the winds each day.
A short video features some of the moments on the river:
As the paddling season wound down, some of the lakes and rivers were paddled for a final time (or two). Jacko Lake (along with Edith and Stake Lakes) is a “go to” spot for paddling each year, and for good reason. Access is good (but a bumpy road), there is lots of room to launch and park, the lake is surrounded by grasslands, there are always lots of birds by the lake, it is close to town, and the lake has a number of shallow bays, suitable for paddling but too shallow for fishermen. A paddle around the lake is 4.4 km, taking about 52 -55 minutes (per loop).
By summer the lake has become more shallow (evaporation and draw down) and aquatic vegetation fills the shallow bays so the paddling loop is farther from the shoreline.
There are some shallow arms/bays to explore that are usually occupied by ducks and muskrats,
On a calm and sunny day, Jacko Lake is a perfect place for a rhythmic quiet paddle in the Kamloops area.
When the weather is marginal I got to one of 4 lakes – Jacko, Edith, Paul, or Edith Lake. On a day that was forecast for wind and rain, I got an early start.
On the open part of the lake, it was a bit windy and cool, but I did a counter-clockwise loop and entered the back channels, protected from the wind.
There are two out-and-back bays on that end of the lake, both protected from the wind, but also with no other boats in sight.
The end of the back channel is surrounded by grazing lands. I usually round the deadhead and return by the other shore.
A circuit around the lake takes about 50 minutes so I go around twice, once in each direction on some days. On this day it was under an hour of paddling, a shorter outing for a busy day.
I will be back to paddle the lake again, then in winter to snowshoe around the lake.
I paddle some lakes every year and Badger Lake is one of them. On this early summer day I drove past Knouff Lake and followed the potholed forest service road to the Badger Lake Recreation Site boat launch.
The launch spot by the campground was often full with awkward launching and poor parking, so a new parking area and boat launch was added south of the Rec site.
I launched the kayak and paddled clockwise around the lake (6 km).
There is a narrow passage into the back lake that can only be used by a canoe or kayak. Sometimes there are some obstacles, but they usually be floated away. There is another passage on the north end that small fishing boats use out and back. I entered at the south end and paddled around the hidden bay, then exited through the north end.
The winds died down leaving me with a perfect day to paddle a quiet lake in the backcountry.
Leighton Lake is located in Tunkwa Lake Provincial Park. It is a popular fishing and camping destination in the warmer months. The North Campground is used by off-road enthusiasts who use the backroads and ATV tracks of the area. In mid-fall, though, it was a quiet spot.
On this day, I paddled once around the lake, then headed down the Tunkwa Lake Road and then paddled Morgan Lake. Fall is a good time to paddle the lake. It can be a busy spot for most of the fishing season.
On a fall day, I launched from the beach at the Pritchard Bridge and paddled out into the river.
I paddled upstream and the downstream flow was quite manageable for steady progress. I paddled up to Pritchard Provincial Park, a marine strip park along the South Thompson River.
I paddled past the park, around a rocky bluff and some farmland shoreline. On the way back, landed on the shoreline in the park and walked the beach.
With the salmon run starting, there were many birds on the river – crows, eagles, geese, and gulls were active on the rivershore. There is foot access to the two sections of parklands along the river (north and south of the bridge) and we are planning to walk these sections in late winter when the beaches clear of snow.
This will be a paddle I will return to do each year, in the spring or fall, when the flow of the river allows reasonable paddling.
Bush Creek Campground is part of Adams Lake Provincial Park. There is a good boat launch and a wide gravel beach. Paddlers can paddle along the shoreline north or south or cross the lake and explore the shoreline. Adams Lake is a large lake which can provide many days of paddling.
On the last day of September I paddled north along the shoreline and back, but there were some fine beaches to explore along the way.
The western shoreline has an interesting shoreline to explore. Agate Bay was visible 10 km north. The water was crystal clear and the lake was quiet.
A few cliffs extend down into the lake. The sun was shining over the ridge as I paddled back to the park.
The park can be a busy spot in the summer, but in the fall it was a fine destination for a day’s paddle.
The low-elevation grassland lakes of the Interior get long days of sunshine and hot conditions and it is common to have algae multiply in these spots. Trapp Lake was like pea soup near the end of September, but I paddled the lake anyway.
Though the lake was green and uninviting, the scenery around the lake was wonderful, and on a calm day, the reflections were perfect.
Most of the experience was captured in video:
Trapp has a number of pros (scenic, close to town, easy access, larger lake) and cons (highway noise and algae), but I enjoy paddling the lake, and in the future I will do that in the spring and skip late summer and early fall.
A Trapp Lake information page will be developed over the winter.
On a September day I drove to Falkland, then up the Chase Creek Road to Pillar Lake. There is a BC Rec Site on the east side of the lake with a gravel boat launch.
At the start of the paddle there was no wind. The Pillar Lake Resort is located on the hillside above the lake for about 200m, but there are no other homes along the lake.
The lake is narrow, but it is a nice relatively quiet spot to paddle. The distance around the shoreline is about 4.6 km.
After paddling I secured the kayak, I hiked up the trail to The Pillar above:
McConnell Lake can be a busy spot so its best to launch early in the morning. I paddled twice around the lake for a total of 5.2 km in about an hour.
More boats were coming in as I finished and there were lots of hikers and dog walkers on the around-the-lake trail.
This is a good spot for a morning paddle and hike. More information on McConnell Lake can be found on the On the Lakes page on this website.
