When we paddle on Paul Lake, we can pass close to the sheer slopes of Gibraltar Rock. On a June day, I paddled a loop route on the middle part of the lake.
Some video moments of the paddle are captured here:
This day in June was the third day of paddling on Paul Lake for 2023 and the 26th day of kayaking in the year. On to other lakes for the rest of the year…
On a grey and cool morning I decided to paddle a smaller lake. I had done Louis Lake before on a SUP on a windy day. This was the first time in a kayak.
The lake has extensive marshy sections with lots of bullrushes and cattails. When the rushes are growing, they can be a barrier to paddle through, but in early spring, it was easy access.
On the lake were ducks and geese. Blackbirds, an osprey and a woodpecker were spotted near the shoreline. The duck most spotted was Barrow’s golden eye.
The west end of the lake is shallow with long sections of rushes.
The hillside rises up on the south side providing shade and darker water.
When I paddled east the sun broke through the clouds warming the lake.
Some of the east end is in Paul Lake Provincial Park. Although there is no trail to the lake from the south, it would make a nice route.
The ridge that separates Louis Lake from Paul Lake rises 340 m and is covered in forest. I have hiked to the top of the ridge from Gibraltar Rock (there is no trail). I call this unnamed ridge Louis Ridge.
A paddle around the perimeter of the lake is 4 km and on this day I did it twice, building some stamina for the longer paddles of the summer.
The first day in the kayak in 2016 was in February and the next 5 weeks was paddling in the rivers. Once the ice is off the lower lakes, we look to paddle them, but the first ones to thaw are smaller lakes like Jocko and Six Mile and they are full of fishermen too, so we wait for Paul Lake, Neskonlith Lake, then Heffley Lake and paddle each of those 2-3 times while the upper lakes thaw. Paul Lake is one the best lakes to paddle all year, offering good access, a longer paddle (12.2 km around), and great scenery. The best launch spot is at the Park beach.
The east end of the lake has some shallower areas, but these are no problem for a kayak.
Every year we see trees angled out over the lake as the roots become weaker where the shoreline erodes away from winter storms and power boat wash/waves. They lean, then fall in a winter storm.
The narrow spot of the lake is at Gibraltar Rock which stands dramatically over the lake.
Steady paddling around the whole shoreline is a 2 to 2.5 hour workout, depending on fitness and wind conditions. The best time to paddle Paul Lake is early in the morning or on weekdays when the power boats aren’t on the lake. We return to the lake a few times each year, along with Heffley Lake and Lac le Jeune, our favorite local lakes.
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One of the best lakes to paddle in our area is Paul Lake. We launch from the Provincial Park beach and follow the shoreline all the way around.
We can head east or west and our choice is often governed by the wind.
On this occasion I paddled west to Gibraltar Rock, then down to the west end of the lake.
Coming back on the south side, I passed a number of homes, then come back into the park across from Gibraltar Rock. The south side shoreline is a steep slope covered in trees.
The east end of the lake ends in a shallow, marshy area. The inlet stream from Pinantan Lake comes in there. We paddled down the north shoreline past homes back to the park.
The entire loop is about 12.5 km if we follow the whole shoreline, including the bays. We paddle this a couple of times each year. It is a quiet spot in spring and the fall, but can be busy in the summer. We avoid weekends and any time after 11:00 in the morning in the summer. Winds pick up after about 11:30 so mornings are usually the best time year round.
BC Parks has removed the boat launch ramp from the Park so that only cartop boats can launch there now, but there are still homeowners who have big docks and big powerboats on either end of the lake. The lake is too narrow for these powerboats which invade the peaceful valley with echoing noise pollution and big waves sent out from the motors, which continue all the way to the shoreline both ways. The lake really needs a horsepower limit, but since it likely won’t happen, we just paddle there in the off-season.