A video is ready on YouTube:
Click the YouTube link on the menu bar for more videos.
Tag Archives: North Thompson River
Three and a Half Bridges
A new video is now available on YouTube:
Click the YouTube link on the menu bar for more Kamloops Kayak or Kamloops Trails videos.
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.
Clearwater to Kamloops Video
A new video is now available on YouTube:
There are more than 100 KamloopsTrails videos on YouTube – link
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.
 |
 |
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.
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 ossier 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 Darfiield and Chu Chua.
Cottowwoods 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 barrne 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.
[map style=”width: auto; height:400px; margin:20px 0px 20px 0px; border: 1px solid black;” maptype=”OSM Cycle” gpx=”https://kamloopstrails.net/wp-content/uploads/Day two on the North Thompson.gpx” elevation=”no” download=”no”]
The third day is 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 36km distance to Kamloops.
cThe 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 from Clearwater to Kamloops, we explored islands in the middle of the North Thompson River and camped on them during a 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 ossier 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 influence was 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.
Downriver: Westsyde to McArthur Island
Paddling our rivers is a matter of picking the right launch and landing spots, the right date and time, and the right weather.
We launched our boats at the end of Harrington Road next to the Golf Course in Westsyde. This spot is a good spot from March through October. We could have chosen to launch off the end of Dairy Road too and may do that next year. Landing spots need a bit of beach to land on, then good access for a vehicle to load the boat. We chose McArthur Island which has enough water at the boat launch area from May through August.
[map style=”width: auto; height:400px; margin:20px 0px 20px 0px; border: 1px solid black;” maptype=”OSM Cycle” z=”13″ gpx=”https://kamloopstrails.net/wp-content/uploads/Downriver North T.gpx” elevation=”no” download=”no”]
Any paddling on the rivers requires careful consideration of power boats. They are frequent on weekends, but if we get an early start, we can finish the paddle before the motorized mania starts. The North Thompson River gets less traffic so we want to get past Overlander Beach before lunch, or earlier.
We picked a sunny day, but wind is the issue, not clouds or rain. With no wind, we can paddle downstream at 7 to 9 km/hour.
The route from Westsyde to McArthur Island is about 14km, two hours of paddling downstream, one we will do again every year for as long as we can.
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 ossier 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.