Buse Lake Protected Area extends from Barnhartvale Road, across the lake, then up into the hills to the Buse Hill hiking area. Buse Lake has no established access route, but it is only a short hike down to the shoreline from a pull-off area on the road. To paddle the lake, we have be haul the boat down the slope to the shoreline.
Buse Lake is a highly alkaline lake and by mid-summer the lake has brine shrimp and brine flies. A number of birds are attracted to lakes with high alkaline salt content. I spotted ducks, swallows and killdeer on this day.
It was a calm day for a paddle around the lake exploring the bays and the shoreline. Alkali salts fringe the shoreline in some areas and pickleweed was turning red right above the white band. The bays were choked with aquatic growth and there was some algae in the shallows.
Buse Lake is a spot for naturalists, or for a paddler interested in the ecology of an alkali lake in the summer. A few moments of the experience are captured in this video:
Pat Lake is a small lake in the Six Mile Hills. It is reached from a bumpy road going off the uphill side of the TranCanada Highway just west of Tobiano. It is a popular fishing lake and it is a busy spot in spring, but by mid-summer it is quiet at the lake.
The road to and under the lake was once the Kamloops to Savona Road. We launch right into the submerged roadbed.
I paddled around the lake twice, once in each direction.
There were loons and ducks on the lake and raptors searching for a meal. This is a scenic and peaceful spot, one we return to paddle every year.
Chuwhels Lake is in a remote spot between Greenstone Mountain and Chuwhels Mountain. It is accessed by driving up the Greenstone Mountain Road for 15.5 km then turning onto the Chuwhels Road. A 1 km track (unsigned) bears east to Chuwhels Lake.
I put my folding kayak into a pack and hiked in to the lake. The track is driveable, but a bit rough. It is a dammed lake and the lake was down, mostly from evaporation. I assembled the kayak then paddled around the lake, then hiked back out.
Some images from the pack and paddle are shared here. Click an image for a lightbox view and a caption.
Chuwhels Lake track
folding kayak at Chuwhels Lake
Chuwhels Lake
Some of the moments of hiking and kayaking are found in this YouTube video:
Hyas Lake is located in the remote hills north of Pinantan Lake. The Hyas Lake Forest Service Road climbs to the bumpy track in to the Hyas Lake Recreation Site. When I arrived, there was one other boat on the lake.
A paddle around the lake takes about 75 minutes. Hyas is one of my favorites, but I also choose a weekday in summer to avoid other boats and campers.
A few moments of paddling the lake are found in this YouTube video:
On a June day I drove up to Heffley Lake for a paddle even though the forecast was not promising. There was no one on the lake. It was only a light sprinkle at the start.
After a few minutes the weather moved in and I was paddling in the rain.
I hung in for an hour of paddling. A few moments of the kayaking on Heffley are captured in this short video:
When the weather is marginal – wind, rain, or cold conditions – it is always hard to know what to do. This one turned out okay.
One of our favorite lakes that we paddle every year is Badger Lake.
Badger Lake is at the end of the maintained roads in the hills north of Knouff Lake. Two roads can be taken, and we usually go up one and return by the other one for a loop route. More information can be found on the Badger Lake page on this website – Badger Lake.
Badger Lake is almost always a quiet spot and it is even quieter in the back channel. On this day, the noise of the blackbirds were the only sounds to be heard. A few moments of the paddle are found in this YouTube video:
Paska Lake is a fine destination for kayaking. It can be a bit busier on weekends, but it is usually fairly quiet at other times. There is a gravel boat ramp at the Rec Site.
A paddle around the lake is about 4 km. If the back channel/lagoon is full of water, we can paddle an extra kilometer. The lagoon is usually navigable in spring. The first water lilies were blooming in the shallow channel. By the end of June it will be shallow and full of aquatic vegetation.
There was a light breeze on the lake. There was a great blue heron, loons, and some ducks on the lake. There was one other boat on the lake and the campsite was mostly empty at the start of June.
More information can be found on the Paska Lake page (On the Lakes > Paska Lake).
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:
With rain forecast, paddling was sure to be a wet venture. Temperatures were mild so it was fine to kayak a local lake, but it was better to wear a spray skirt, a paddling jacket, gloves, and a hat. This was the first day of paddling on Edith Lake.
There was a light rain for the whole paddle and the winds got worse by the end, but it was good to get out anyway, the second day of 5 paddling in the drizzle. A few moments of kayaking are found on this TikTok video. Click the full screen icon to get a better view.
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.
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.
In late October, it had rained overnight, but at Edith Lake there was some snow on the ground in shaded areas. With winds forecast, I was on the water early.
A complete circuit of the lake can be done in less than an hour. By the end the cold winds were blowing.
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This would probably be the last day of paddling on Edith Lake for this year, but it was also the 89th day of paddling in 2022.
Buse Lake is a highly alkaline lake and by mid-summer the lake has brine shrimp and brine flies. A number of birds are attracted to lakes with high alkaline salt content. I spotted ducks, swallows and killdeer on this day.
It was a calm day for a paddle around the lake exploring the bays and the shoreline. Alkali salts fringe the shoreline in some areas and pickleweed was turning red right above the white band. The bays were choked with aquatic growth and there was some algae in the shallows.
Buse Lake is a spot for naturalists, or for a paddler interested in the ecology of an alkali lake in the summer. A few moments of the experience are captured in this video:
After a few minutes the weather moved in and I was paddling in the rain.
Badger Lake is almost always a quiet spot and it is even quieter in the back channel. On this day, the noise of the blackbirds were the only sounds to be heard. A few moments of the paddle are found in this YouTube video:
