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:
Campbell Lake is at the end of a long, bumpy road and it can be a busy spot in prime times so I try to paddle it off season. Over the last few years, there have been pelicans on the lake in late August and much of September so I schedule my time to coincide with their time on the lake. On a windy September morning I got an early start.
The pelicans are usually in shallow water. Campbell Lake has a few large shallow bays which boats can’t get through. A kayak can slowly cross the shallow, aquatic weed-thick water to approach the pelicans, but a long telephoto lens is still needed.
I watched the pelicans then paddled around the lake, spotting a heron, an eagle, some geese, and many ducks. A paddle around the lake is about 8 km.
It was a windy day with difficult light for photography and videography, but I took some video clips, then flew the drone to put together a video:
The highlight of paddling the lake is to see the pelicans. I hope to paddle out to them on Kamloops Lake again soon.
A Campbell Lake page will be developed over the winter with detailed information.
In mid-September Face Lake was the destination for a morning paddle. There is no reasonable public launch on the lake so I checked in at the Mile High Lodge, paid a small parking and launch fee, and used the boat launch (parking in the Guest parking area). The folks at the lodge were again welcoming and wished me well. I then paddled around the lakeshore.
It is accessed by the Paska Lake Road (paved). Continue to the end of the road which takes you to the Resort. Face Lake sits at 5800 feet, at the foot of Chuwhels Mountain.
It is a pleasant 5.8 km kayak around the lake. With no traffic past the resort, the lake is a quiet spot.
A few moments on the lake are captured in a short video:
This is a recommended lake for paddling in the summer.
On a hot summer morning I got an early start and drove to Monte Lake. I use the hand launch area from the Monte Creek Forest Service Road on the north side of the lake. The lake was calm and I only saw one other boat on a paddle down the lake and back.
There is a boat launch off the highway on the east side of the lake too, but I prefer the informal one on the north end.
Surround the lake is blackened forest from the gigantic 2021 White Rock Forest Fire. Twenty-eight homes were burned in the fire and the Community of Monte Lake was evacuated. Recovery efforts are still underway.
A paddle around the shoreline is about 6.7 km, a good workout. I prefer to paddle down the west side and back on the same side to avoid the highway noise. The noise is the only drawback. A good lake to wear earpods while paddling.
Peterhope Lake is accessed by going up a 7.5 km Forest Service Road from the south end of Stump Lake. There is a BC Rec Site there with camping spots and two boat launches.
A paddle around the lake is about 6 km. The highlight is a narrow marsh channel which leads to a small lake on the southwest end.
The small lake is away from the campers, fishermen, and private homes on the lake.
It is a quiet spot for ducks and an occasional paddler.
Some video footage of Peterhope Lake is embedded into this post:
Tunkwa Lake is one of the best rainbow trout fishing lakes in the province. It lies in the grasslands – forest zone to the southwest of Kamloops, accessible on paved roads from Logan Lake. There are several launch spots on the lake. On this summer day, I parked at the Day Use area and padded the 7.5 km loop around the shoreline.
The Tremont Forest Fire ran through the area in 2021 and there are many sections of blackened trees around the lake.
There are always lots of birds on the lake. Flocks of blackbirds were active in all of the marshy areas.
Aquatic plants were filling in the shallow bays. White water crowfoot, smartweed, and arumleaf arrowhead were in flower.
Tunkwa
gull
smartweed
white water crowfoot
pollinator on arumleaf arrowhead
Tunkwa
Some video footage provides a sense of what it is like on the lake:
I will be back to paddle on neighboring Leighton Lake this paddling season.
A favorite combination for summer recreation is to paddle a lake, then hike around it. In August I launched my kayak and paddled the 3 km loop around the lake.
After securing the boat, I hiked the 3.5 km trail around the lake, enjoying some of the larger douglas fir trees by the single-track trail.
There were a few hikers and dog-walkers on the trail and a couple of boats out on the water, but it was a quiet day at McConnell Lake.
This year we have paddled the lake twice, we snowshoed the area twice, and we have hiked the lake loop, each time enjoying the high country forests.
This grove leads to a shortcut trail down to the Dogwood Marshes.
Some video footage was taken during the paddle and the hike, now available on YouTube:
Other paddle-hike locations include Stake Lake, Isobel Lake, Lac le Jeune, Paul Lake, and a number of other lakes that have trails nearby.
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.
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.
The pelicans are usually in shallow water. Campbell Lake has a few large shallow bays which boats can’t get through. A kayak can slowly cross the shallow, aquatic weed-thick water to approach the pelicans, but a long telephoto lens is still needed.
The small lake is away from the campers, fishermen, and private homes on the lake.
The Tremont Forest Fire ran through the area in 2021 and there are many sections of blackened trees around the lake.
