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Tag Archives: North Thompson River
Three and a Half Bridges
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Tournament Capital Ranch Channels
Launching a kayak from the Tournament Capital Ranch requires driving a dirt road to the bank above the river, then hauling the boat down the sandbanks to good spot. There is a bay with a back eddy and a beach south of the slow pitch diamonds area.
The river runs very quickly, too fast for most paddlers to proceed upstream, but we can paddle downstream, cross to the other side and come up channels on the west side.
In the first channel the water was still, but the shoreline was very colorful. At the end it was easier to turn around than to portage to the next channel.
The next channel ran aground after a while, but it was a short portage to get to the next channel.
Each channel was flanked by fall colors.
Most of these channels could be paddled without any portages in spring and early summer.
Some hard paddling and a short portage across a gravel bar took me back to the main channel so that I could paddle downstream to the start, turning quickly into a back eddy.
This was fun paddling, but it would not be the kind of venture that novice paddlers should try. Any route from the shoreline will involve paddling upstream into fast currents, paddling across the current, paddling in shallow water, portaging, and hauling. All safety gear would be a must, especially in cool or cold water.
I plan to return in early summer to explore more channels or to paddle downstream to Riverside Park.
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South and North Thompson Rivers Paddle
Paddling upstream is always a good workout and part of a spring fitness program, getting ready for longer paddling adventures on the bigger lakes, the rivers, and the ocean in the summer. One route we do every spring is to go up the North Thompson River, which is a bit harder than the South Thompson River. I launched at Pioneer Park and paddled downstream to start the day.
The route goes under the Red Bridge, then the Black Bridge to the confluence, an easy 1.3 km start to the paddling day.
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There was a “flotilla” of swans near the confluence which were annoyed at this long (18′) green boat coming toward them, but I turned the corner and started upstream towards the Halston Bridge.
There are a number of gravel or sand banks on both sides of the river so the best course is to paddle straight up the middle. There are sections of faster water so progress is slow at times. Ducks and geese stayed close to the shoreline and a bald eagle watched from a still-leafless cottonwood tree.
The beaches along Schubert Drive were starting to shrink as the flow of the river increased. This is a quiet route with no road noise until we got close to the bridge. Progress upstream is at about 3.5 km an hour. We can probably do 4 km/hour, but steady, rhythmic paddling is the key to endurance work.
The Halston Bridge was busy but there was also a train crossing the CN Bridge. Some faster water swirls under both bridges.
I paddled past the CN Bridge and looked upstream at the river. That section of river up to Rayleigh will be another day of paddling, launching out of Westsyde.
I turned the boat and paddled gently downstream, averaging more like 7.5 to 8 km/h. Mt. Paul stands over the rivers on the way back to the confluence.
Looking south into the sun is the confluence of the South and North Thompson Rivers overshadowed by the City, but reflected clouds in the river were the memory I took away from the return paddle. Turning the corner, the final 1.3 km is another slow one, upstream to Pioneer Park.
On the Thompson Rivers
In late October in Kamloops fall colours adorn the riverbanks, especially on the North Thompson River. I launched at Pioneer Park and paddled downstream to the confluence, then turned upstream paddling steadily against current to the Halston Bridge and back.
This same route was paddled in March (Up the North Thompson) and will be hope to return in early spring and fall in the next year. I spotted an osprey, two great blue herons, a kingfisher, and eagle, a flock of buffleheads, seagulls, and the usual crows, magpies, and other birds. No other boats were on the rivers on this mild fall day. Our “orange corridor” on the Thompson Rivers is a special place in October.
Downriver: Westsyde to McArthur Island
The paddle from Westsyde to McArthur Island is a leisurely 14 km downriver route. We launched from the end of Harrington Road near the Dunes and moved out into the river allowing the current to pull us downstream.
In June the river is bank to bank with no sand bars. We could average 7km per hour without too much effort, passing Westsyde.
We went under the CN Bridge, then the Halston Bridge on our “Rivers Trail.”
Even though the river was wide and peaceful, there were no other boats on the river as we passed Mt. Paul and North Kamloops.
At the Confluence we followed the river past Overlander Beach, under the bridge, past the old pylons and toward McArthur Island.
We tucked into a small beach at the boat launch ramp at McArthur Island out of the way of power boats lined up to launch at noon on a Sunday. This is an enjoyable paddle and an easy one with the power of the river moving us along. Kamloops is lucky to have two rivers for recreational paddling right at our doorstep.
Up the North Thompson
When we paddle early in the season. we paddle upriver then return back down to our launch spot. The South Thompson is the easier river to paddle upstream, but we also go up the North Thompson River too. We launch from Pioneer Park and head down to the confluence, then we use the rudder to take a sharp turn at Indian Point, turning north to paddle the stronger current of the North Thompson. Mt. Paul dominates the views as we make our way along the shores of Kamloops Indian Reserve.
The distance to Halston Bridge from the confluence is 3.65km, but upstream progress is slow on this river. The Batchelor Hills frame the Halston Bridge and the route to Westsyde.
We paddle past Paul Creek, then the Halston Bridge piers and round the pylons of the CN Train Bridge too before heading back downstream. (Video link)
Yellow willows and red osier dogwood overlook the sand banks of the river, Dome Hills and Mt. Paul lie to the northeast.
The route from Pioneer Park passes under four bridges twice (Red Bridge, Black Bridge, Halston Bridge, and the CN Bridge) and is about 10.5 km. Two thirds of the time is spent paddling upstream, a good core and upper body workout for the early season.
Downriver – Clearwater to Kamloops
We launched our kayaks at North Thompson Provincial Park and paddled downriver to Kamloops over 3 days. We spent our first night on an island in the middle of the river.
We launched in the morning on the second day and stopped for a break on one of the many sandbars along the route.
This second section of the journey has many sections of calm water for a longer day of paddling. The hills on either side rise above the farmland benches of Darfield and Chu Chua.
Cottonwoods line the river and sandbars are exposed in August. When we paddled this route in June one year, the water ran fast and there were many side channels, but few gravel bars or sandbars above the water.
The river moves quickly past Barriere and through Fishtrap Canyon. The hills are barren because of the 2003 McLure Fire.
There are some bumpy sections of water through Fishtrap Canyon as we round Mount Goudreau and Skull Hill, offering some interesting and scenic paddling. At the bottom of Fishtrap Canyon there are some rapids and several islands. In high water, there are three islands, but by August they are a single island. There are some small bays and sandy beaches on the west side with campsites suitable for a few tents.
This was our second night of camping, after a 39 km paddle.
The third day was a slower paddle past McLure and Vinsulla towards a canyon north of Heffley Lake.
Although the river seems to be moving slowly, we averaged 8.5 km/hour over the 36 km distance to Kamloops.
The Heffley Rapids are always an exciting paddle, but they are less formidable in August. We stopped at the mouth of Jamieson Creek to scout the rapids and pick a route. We opted for a route to the right and passed through without incident, but we also enjoyed the bumpy ride over a series of smaller rapids over a kilometer distance. Below the rapids, we passed Heffley creek and Rayleigh with grasslands above the communities.
Old log boom poles run down the side of the river in Rayleigh.
We landed in Westysde at Harrington Road, not the best place to haul the boats and gear, but Kamloops lacks good landing/launching spots on the North Thompson within the City’s limits.
The entire journey was about 112km over 3 days. There are many good places to camp on islands in the river so the trip could be done in 2-4 days. We had good weather and little wind so the days were long, but reasonable. Camping on the river is a wonderful experience, one that we will paddle downriver Clearwater to Kamloops again in upcoming years.
Chu Chua Cottonwood Provincial Park
On a recent paddling trip kayaking downriver from Clearwater to Kamloops, we explored islands in the middle of the North Thompson River and camped overnight on them during the 3 day journey. At the end of the first day of paddling we landed on the final island of Chu Chua Cottonwood Provincial Park.
BC Parks describes the park as follows:
“An area of large, undisturbed, floodplain islands in the North Thompson River. The typical large floodplain area is in a natural, undisturbed condition.”
We landed on the gravel beach and camped up in low sand dunes on the edge of the green space – grass, willows, and osier dogwood surround cottonwood forests. To go right to the interior of each island means pushing through tall undisturbed growth. We saw many deer and bird tracks, but no human or cow traces were spotted. This is a rarely visited set of islands.
In high water, there is a chain of separate islands, then when the river recedes, small channels separate them and by mid-summer, some go dry.
Muddy shoals and gravel bars appear in the river, making navigation difficult for anything but canoes, kayaks, and possibly river jetboats.
The river was peaceful, but Highway 5 is not far away on one side and the CN tracks are on the other side.
We landed on a number of other islands on our downriver paddle. We camped on two of these and enjoyed explored the rarely visited isles of the North Thompson River.
Revised – 12/2024
Paddling North of Two Rivers Junction
A good early-season paddle is to launch at Pioneer Park and paddle down to the Confluence of the two rivers, then take a sharp right turn right to go up the North Thompson River. It is never an easy paddle upstream, but we look for the slowest water on the river, crossing back and forth, sometimes progressing quite slowly. This is a good early-season workout.
Mt. Paul stands above the Kamloops Indian Reserve on the eastern shore.
Cottonwood-lined Schubert Drive and the Rivers Trail in North Kamloops follows the western shore to Halston.
It takes about an hour to paddle up to the Halston Bridge and beyond to the CN Bridge. A train was crossing the bridge as I paddled underneath and around the pylons.
There are extensive sandbars and shallows along the North Thompson River. Along the eastern banks are signs of beaver activity, including a lodge, several belly slides, and chewed off willows and red osier dogwood. Great blue herons stood on the shoreline and bald eagles watched from the cottonwoods.
This is a hard workout paddling upstream on the North Thompson, but it is an easy paddle back down to the confluence. The hard work starts again, paddling back upriver to the Black Bridge, then the Red Bridge on the way to Pioneer Park.
Early in the season there is no one else on the river. It is a good workout to paddle the 10.6 km route, half of it upstream into the current, but it is part of developing a base of paddling endurance for the year, running this year from February to November.
McLure to Kamloops River Run
We have paddled the 36 km route down the North Thompson River from the McLure Ferry to Westsyde Road a few times.. It is different experience each time, depending on the volume of water in the river. Before the spring melt, the river has extensive sand and gravel bars and the water moves more slowly. During freshet, the river is wide and moves quickly. Side channels are also full of water and there is a lot of movement in the river – eddies, rapids, whirlpools, and waves. The Heffley Rapids are imposing, making for an exciting ride.
This time, we paddled the river on September 1st and the sandbars and gravel bars were emerging. The river was still moving along at a good speed and we were able to maintain about 9km/hour with steady paddling. We found that the river travels about 2km/hour faster on the outside of curves (using a deck-mounted GPS) and that river always had one side that ran faster. We launched from the Ferry on Westsyde Road and stayed in the faster water as much as could.
Most of the river is just steady paddling, but there are a few obstacles to go around and some minor rapids. We always stop and land at a small beach just past Jamieson Creek and jus before the Heffley Rapids. We hiked over to the edge of the rapids this last time and planned a route, which worked very well. We went through only 3 sections of rapids by going down a side channel to the right. The left side has a long series of rapids and in higher water, there will be about 8 sections to get through. This is not a route for novices. Good boat-management and a variety of paddle strokes are needed.
The last section past Rayleigh to Westsyde seems slower, but the river is wider and flows about the same speed. Most kayaks will be fine for running the river, but the longer boats go faster, are more seaworthy in rougher water, and a rudder helps to avoid obstacles with both paddling and steering.
We divide the river into 4 sections for a day trip:
- Clearwater to Little Fort Ferry (use the Search Bar for this story)
- Little Fort to McLure (Search)
- McLure to Westsyde articles – July 2013, June 2013, June 2010 and more
- Westsyde to Pioneer Park (Search bar)
Four Bridges
Kamloops’ two rivers provide fine early season paddling. The South Thompson flows more slowly, has fewer shallows/sandbars, and has less hazards. Progress up or down is good, except when the power boats arrive. The North Thompson has far less traffic and a little more caution is needed, and it is hard work to paddle upstream.
Most river paddling outings follow this pattern of hard work upstream, followed by an easy return journey. On this grey and windy day, the route was from Pioneer Park downstream to the confluence, then upstream on the North Thompson. The Red Bridge stands at the west end of Pioneer Park. It was first built in 1887, then rebuilt in 1912, then in 1936. It is a wooden truss bridge, now an unusual situation for an active urban route. The top rails are red, but we paddle under the dark pylons and timbers.
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The Black Bridge is on a spur line of the CNR. On the northwest pylon is a long-standing beaver lodge. On one sunny spring day my kayak silently glided down and surprised two beavers sunning themselves on the pile of debris. Past the bridge, we come to Indian Point. When the river is higher we can take a tight turn through the swirling water to the North Thompson. In April, the gravel bars extend half-way to Riverside Park, so we paddle past all the geese, ducks, seagulls and turn sharp right into the faster flowing waters. Both shores of the North Thompson have water-covered sandbars which kayaks can clear, but the water runs more quickly over the shallows, so we stay in the main channel, working hard upstream. Sand dunes line the river on the east side in several places.
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From the confluence to above the Halston Bridge is 4 km. The east side has many signs of wildlife. Swallows nest in the bank, bears and eagles can be seen at the point where Paul Creek flows into the river, and we can see where beavers have a slide down the sand-clay banks.
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The North Thompson narrows at the Halston Bridge and the CN Trail Bridge and the river speeds up this this narrow corridor. We have to be careful to stay away from the pylons and bases.
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The return paddle back down the river is much easier, then we turn upriver for the final leg back to Pioneer Park. This is not an easy route, an 11.6 km paddle, a workout for the early season, building an endurance base for the season.
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North Thompson Run
The run down the North Thompson River from McLure to Kamloops is about 36 km. We launched from the McLure Ferry on the west side in our ocean-going kayaks.
In high water, the river runs faster and all the island channels open up. We immediately chose the channel behind a larger island and we continued to take these types of channels all the way down the river. The river was running quickly, and we were in no hurry, but we still averaged 9.6 km/hour, about twice as fast as steady paddling on flat water.
The North Thompson has many gravel and sand shoals which are a danger to power boats, but pose no hazard to shallow-draught kayaks. There was some swirling water and some spots of fast-running water, but the route down the North Thompson is a pleasant route, best suited to longer boats and experienced paddlers, but relatively easy for most of the route.
The one challenging area is the Heffley Rapids. Just below the Jamieson Creek outlet, the river moves quickly and crosses rocky ground resulting in sections of rapids over a one kilometer distance. The first rapid is usually the biggest one and it is best to pick a good route through standing waves, intersecting side channels, and bumpy sections. It is possible to be flipped over (I was a few years ago), so care and precision is needed. It is usually a lot of fun and more exciting than the long sections of slow water, but the Heffley Rapids are not for inexperienced paddlers. Even having done this a few times, we usually stop at a small beach above the rapids and then we walk the shoreline to scout out a good route.
In fast water, the route from the McLure Ferry to Harrington Road in Westsyde took only 4 hours. There is a lot of slow-moving water from Heffley to Westsyde, but there is nowhere to land so the last section is a leisurely paddle to the landing. We find the river to be quiet, scenic, and interesting. The North Thompson has back eddies, channels, islands, swirling water, a few rapids a lot of hidden beaches, and more opportunities for wildlife sightings. The river is navigable in a kayak from above Clearwater all the way to Kamloops, but it is rare to see a paddler on the river. Our next trip will be a long route from Clearwater all the way to Kamloops, with an overnight stay on islands in the middle of the river along the way.
River Run
We launched our kayaks at the McLure Ferry and paddled to Kamloops. We had dropped off a vehicle at the end of Harrington Drive in Westsyde and we were paddling 36 km downriver when the river is high.
The paddle is not very technical except when you have to be careful at side channels and in the Heffley Rapids, but the trip was rewarding and uneventful. Just after launching into the river, we spotted an island and back channel at the south end of McLure, so we went under the footbridge.
A number of islands are only surrounded by water for two months so we took the time to explore back channels when we could. We spotted deer on a number of occasions. Most of the time, we got through these channels quickly. They will be a slower diversion next month.
We were moving quickly. Even with explorations, drifting, and playing in the back eddies, we averaged 9.6 km/h over the 36 km distance.
Down on the river, we see the shoreline which is below the line of sight from the roads. We see the shape of the river, and most of all we see the movement of water – whirlpools, back eddies, standing waves, rebound chop, fast lines of water, rapids, calm bays, and sweeps. Photography is awkward and hard to compose, but the sounds and swirls of the river are part of our visual memories, ones that need refueling each year.
We stopped at the mouth of the Jamieson River for lunch, to scout the rapids below, and to plan our on-water routines in the event of a spill.
In high water, the Heffley Rapids are a bumpy ride, but the drops are smaller and the standing waves less imposing. We found a good line through the rapids. No “Oh, God” moments. A couple of “yahoos” were heard. In a fast kilometer of paddling, we were in calm water heading to Rayleigh and chose to continue at a leisurely pace to Westsyde. 36 km in under 4 hours was a surprising result. The goal was never to see how fast we could do this river run. Paddling downstream in an active river has an ineffable quality that becomes part of who we will are or will become. It is a logistical challenge and makes a long day, but the call for another adventure resonates in our hearts and calls for another outing.
North Thompson Channel
A channel that floods in high water on the North Thompson River was featured in a post last summer (link). In May and June, the river expands and rises and creates a mile-long island island across from Westysde. By paddling across the river, a canoe or kayak can enter the channel at either end and enjoy and “everglades” type of environment. Beavers, muskrats, eagles, ducks, and nesting birds use the slower-moving waters of the channel. An eagle’s nest overlooks the south end of the channel. We saw a cowbird and western tanagers in the trees. Beaver activity is most often seen in the evening. The top part of the channel is partially blocked by a large ponderosa pine so care should be taken at the north end. Personal water craft or motorboats are not recommended. A number of submerged poles are evidence of former log-booming in the channel. The journey through the channel is safe and very navigable for canoes and kayaks, though the north entrance may daunt some so less-confident paddlers can enter at the south end and paddle up and back.
Crossing the North Thompson takes some experience. Starting at the Harrington Road hand launch site is recommended, with a quick crossing to the east side. Going up and back along the east shore is easier since the west shore current is much stronger.
